The Kurama whom Kurama Never Knew
by Mikageshi
Summary: Kurama does not faze her at all. "So you have a thumb as green as your eyes. Big deal." But he can't say the same about her. Meet Yusuke's least favorite customer. Kaitou's new nemesis. The Sniper's first love. But just who was—is—she to Kurama? He cracks his most intimate case yet. A Kurama x OC novel like no other. *TWO-CHAPTER UPDATE* Chapters 20 & 21: This is how Kurama loves.
1. The Weirdest Gardener Ever

**Disclaimer  
**The fictional characters, settings, events, and other such elements portrayed herein are based upon the anime _Yu Yu Hakusho_, originally a _manga _series created by Togashi Yoshihiro-_sama_—the coolest _mangaka _alive!—and adapted to the small screen by Fuji TV in Japan and FUNimation Entertainment in the U.S. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N  
**_Why _did I even bother typing that overly formal disclaimer? (This is so obviously my first YYH fanfic, isn't it?) Oh, yes. It is—even if I first watched YYH _twelve_ years ago…! (Well, it took me this long to find the time. And yes, I am old. XD) And because this is my first attempt at YYH, please go easy on me. Happy reading! ^-^

**THE KURAMA WHOM KURAMA NEVER KNEW**

**1: The Weirdest Gardener Ever  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **Swiss Army Knife**

"Shuuichi," summoned the gentle, soft-spoken Minamino Shiori from the living room. "Please come down."

Kurama raised his nose from the book that he had been reading since high noon, after lunch. "_Hai, 'Kaa-san_," he called out towards his bedroom door. He rose from his desk, took his gray coat off the hook by the door, and softly treaded downstairs.

The staircase led to the first floor of the humble Minamino home, where he caught familiar sight of a warm maternal hand on the shoulder of a raven-haired boy in his teens.

"Shuuichi, would you mind going with Shuuichi-_kun _to his first day of guitar lessons?" Shiori lovingly smiled at her older biological son and turned to face her younger stepson of the same name. "You were asleep in the car when we went there last time, so I'm afraid you might get lost if you go there by yourself now."

"_Electric_ guitar, '_Kaa-san_!" corrected the younger Shuuichi, clutching the handle of a black guitar case on one hand and waving his stepmother's worry off with the other. "There's a big difference between that and the lame ordinary one. And I'll be fine! Shuuichi-'_nii-san_ doesn't have to go with me. I know how to get there on my own!"

A thin smile curled Kurama's lips. Anything for his family. "Now, now, _otouto_, I really should accompany you. For your safety, and for '_Kaa-san_'s peace of mind."

Just as his stepbrother opened his mouth to speak, Kurama continued knowingly. "You don't want your new classmates to see that you have a 'bodyguard,' right? They don't have to see me, then. I'll still be at the park when you're done."

And just as he promised, there he was, sitting on a wooden bench in Yukimi Park on a windy Sunday afternoon. Dotting the pale sky were cotton candy-like clouds, hungrily torn from their spool by an excited sweet-toothed child. From the corner of his eye, he could make out the entrance of the music school wherein his stepbrother was now acquiring the fundamentals of the electric guitar. _Which is just as well_, he thought. _Just in case he leaves class early._

His stepbrother was fifteen now, going on sixteen in the summer. But his protectiveness of his family—including his stepfamily—was already instinctive to him. He may still be the most infamous and feared thief in all of _Makai_ within the human body of a now high school graduate, but there was no doubt about it: he yearned for their safety naturally, shamelessly. Was it out of love for them? Or was it a means to keep everything under his control?

After all, Kurama detested surprises—unexpected phenomena which, given their nature of being unexpected, he was unable to plan for several steps in advance. An accident or tragedy befalling any of them would be a threat to him—because they were family… because he had failed his own lofty expectations of himself…

He was a living contradiction: selfless to satisfy his own ego.

Suddenly he sensed danger hanging heavy in the air. Right then and there, in the park. Loud cries erupted from the playground.

"Come on! Gimme all the money you got!"

"I don't want to!"

"You talkin' back at me, huh, little boy?"

"He said he doesn't want to. Leave him alone."

"Shut up if you don't wanna get hurt, princess!"

"Just cough up your money already!"

"No. You don't have to do as they say."

_Threats. Resistance. A confrontation, no doubt. _His protective instincts taking over him, Kurama raced to the source of the voices.

He spotted three teenage boys towering over another boy and a girl on the swings. The lanky one sporting a navy blue cap backwards—_the leader of the pack_, construed Kurama—brandished a pointed object that glittered in the sunlight.

As he ran, Kurama was tacitly debating with and against himself whether he should draw out his Rose Whip to use against the rascals. After a split second of thought, he decided that his whip was too dangerous for the situation at hand. _Even if they are in the wrong, they're just misbehaved boys_, he told himself mentally_. One careless move from any of these young _ningen_ may result in needless bloodshed._

"Your mouth will be the death of you, bit—"

And before the wielder of the knife could graze his intended victim, Kurama seized the bully by his armed wrist.

The three whirled to find a young man in his late teens or early twenties with untamed hair the color of blood and the most merciless eyes that theirs had ever beheld.

"You've caused enough trouble here." Even the man's guttural alto was undeniably experienced in giving threats. Lethal ones. "Go. Now."

The boy squirmed under Kurama's tight hold. He released the knife from his hand, only for his more fearless accomplice to instantly pick it up and pin it to the girl's neck.

"Let Taka go or she'll get it!"

"Jirou!"

Kurama winced inwardly. He may not know any of them, but he still wanted none of them hurt, as much as humanly possible.

Jirou's armed hand trembled violently as he poked the blade even deeper into the girl's skin. The hostage locked eyes with Kurama's, unblinking, relaying some cryptic message in mute. A strange calm lit them, as if she knew just what to do at the moment.

She screamed at the top of her lungs, once, twice—insincere outcries, but distracting.

Now was his chance.

While all eyes were on the hysterical girl, Kurama summoned the nearest plant with his _youki_. It was a majestic _sakura_ tree, the greatest branch of which stretched out in a flash, shooting directly towards none other than the three bullies.

Taka and the other ruffian gasped, one knocked unconscious after the other. In a vain attempt to defend himself, Jirou flicked his wrist to slice through something—anything—before he befell the same fate as his buddies.

Long, fine threads spilled to the muddied ground as a gentle breeze whisked away the fallen _sakura _leaves. All fell silent.

The young boy on the swing darted glances from Kurama to his own playmate in wide-eyed shock and disbelief. He jumped off the swing, his clean sneakers squishing on the mud. With one thunderous, unintelligible scream, he broke into a mad dash, distancing himself from them as fast as his legs could carry him and never looking back.

The girl sighed as she watched her playmate disappear into the distance. Then she turned to face Kurama, a forced smile and a tranquil loneliness across her face.

"So you have a thumb as green as your eyes. Big deal. He didn't have to make a run for it."

Kurama froze. Was she not freaked out as well? "You are mistaken. I had nothing to do with it. You were just seeing—"

"A stranger one minute. A savior the next. A liar now." The girl finished for him. "You're trying to protect me again, this time from the truth. Is it really so difficult to believe and understand? Or are you just taking me for a fool?"

Kurama blinked. _Just what is with this girl?_

"Underestimate me. Fine. Just leave the kid alone. He will forget this soon, anyway. Even if he doesn't, neither he himself nor his confidantes will believe him eventually," She picked up a stray _sakura _leaf by its stalk and twirled it between her pointer and thumb. "Unbelievable things, even when already seen for oneself, always remain doubted. Human nature."

Kurama paused awhile and sniffed the air. _Not a trace of _youkai _scent on her. _Yet the _ningen_ reminded him of Hiei. _Brooding over humanity from an outside point of view… But his case is understandable—he isn't human._ "What about you?"

She scaled the commanding _sakura_ tree with her eyes. "I could play a game of selective memory with myself, but what you just did was so out of the ordinary that I would lose." She knocked one of her temples lightly. "Have you ever read Eoin Colfer's _Artemis Fowl_? Or the first book in the series, at least?"

Even Kurama the Tactician was thrown off by the random shift in topic. "Uh—_un_," he stammered. "Why do you ask?"

"The leprechauns in _Artemis Fowl_—or the L.E.P. Recons—possess the power of 'mind-wipe,' _ne_? If you're anything like them, then you may have to mind-wipe me." She touched the nape of her neck gingerly, searching for something that refused to make its presence felt. "You have another option, though."

He allowed his eyelids to close, his arms to fold across his chest, and his pointer and thumb to cup his chin—as his body instinctively did when his mind was lost in thought. "To let you go with your memories intact, as I just did with your friend."

"You could call it that. But I believe it's called Trust. You could choose to just trust me."

Kurama chuckled lightly.

"This is no laughing matter," exclaimed the girl grimly. "You are hurt."

The first time that Kurama paid attention to the crimson lace which served as the girl's headband was when she suddenly yanked it off her hair. Then she casually tugged at the edge of his coat sleeve and pointed to the nearby park fountain.

He walked behind her. His eyes traveled down the back of her head and widened upon discovering that her hair was now shorter than when he first saw her, and that its ends were asymmetrical and unevenly cut. "That boy, he—"

"I know," she interrupted dryly without looking at him. "He probably meant to cut something else. So I _should _be relieved. But the two men in my life, they don't like me with short hair."

"Two…?"

"My father, of course," she answered matter-of-factly. She sat upon the edge of the water fountain made of marble, and motioned for him to follow suit facing her. "And Ame-_kun_."

Kurama blinked at her, unfamiliarity etched on his face.

"Why? Don't you have a special some…?" The girl's words trailed off. She lightly tapped herself on the head again. "Oh. That should be none of my business. _Mengo._"

"_Mengo_?"

The girl refused to return his gaze, a barely visible flush discoloring her cheeks. "My own version of an apology. '_Gomen_' is too common for me. When I say it, I feel as though I don't mean it. So I say _mengo_ instead."

Without warning, she seized his wrist and immersed his hand into the chilly water. Kurama felt a new, thin yet piercing pain shoot up his veins, from his palm to his wrist to his arm.

"_Mengo _if it stings. I take it that you're the type who doesn't mind getting hurt for the sake of other people," she went on, still not meeting his eyes. "Just a small flesh wound. You didn't even notice when Cap Guy slashed you. You seem to have already lived through much worse. Had one too many fights in your time?"

Kurama looked at her squarely. Could she tell his entire past just by the last five minutes of their lives? _And is her train of thought really so…?_

"I… understand. You don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

Kurama's gaze sank. Both of them sensed a concentrated discomfort befouling the air.

She drew his hand from the water and clicked her tongue thrice when fresh blood seeped out of the deep cut along Kurama's palm. "The cold of the water should have made it clot by now. You're a bleeder, aren't you?"

He decided to be a little more open with her—for that question, at least. "I _have _bled a lot before."

"You sure you're not a hemophiliac?" She laughed softly, just poking fun at him. Then she soaked her hair band into the fountain water.

"I wouldn't have lived this long if I were." _And I do mean as long as over a thousand years_, Kurama commented inwardly.

She then wrapped her drenched lace around his hand tightly. "I hope you don't mind. It's not clinically sanitized—it did just come from near my scalp—but it should conceal the bleeding. And hopefully stop it."

"_Arigatou._"

"_Iie_. _I _thank _you_. You did save me, and that little boy whom I hoped would be the first friend I made today. That was a mistake."

Kurama stared at the small red ribbon binding his palm. "You two didn't know each other?"

"No. He and I simply shared a preference for swings over seesaws. Swings, one can have fun riding by oneself. Seesaws can be quite lonely."

Suddenly Kurama went down memory lane, back to the days when his human mother would take him to the colorful seesaws of Yukimi Park. Somehow they never triggered the same melancholy in him—Shiori did not let them. She never abandoned him. She always sat on the other end of the seesaw cautiously, taking care that he would never fall off, always reassuring him with a tender smile and the words: "_Hang on to the bars tight, Shuuichi. Please be careful._"

"Be careful," voiced a low throaty echo from reality.

When Kurama set his eyes on the girl before him, he saw a young Minamino Shiori—a female _ningen_ who knew nothing of his true identity yet, as soon as fate brought them together, cared for him as though he were truly her loved one.

"Seems to me you're not that immune to blackmail," She continued, frowning. "If you always choose to be helpless and so expose yourself to harm when the safety of someone you don't want hurt is threatened, then your loved ones will always be used against you."

Kurama wanted to deny the truth of her words. But he could not.

"Blackmail does not work on someone who refuses to be blackmailed."

"_Sou desu yo_." He had had enough—it was _his_ turn to fire questions. "Do you always analyze other people this way?"

The girl chuckled. "_Heh_. For all my analyzing, I still don't know what _Oyaji_ will do when he sees what happened to my hair. I'm years too old for any physical punishment now."

_But no biological, or even adoptive, _ningen_ in his or her right mind would ever dare inflict premeditated acts of brutality upon his or her own offspring. There are, of course, many qualifications to consider… _Kurama suddenly realized that he regarded the punitive decisions of human parents in a positive light because he himself had a nonviolent childhood. Again, thanks to Shiori. "He won't hurt you. He's your father."

"He may not hurt me _physically_. But I don't look forward to an upsetting verbal spat tonight, either."

She ran a casually wandering finger along Kurama's bandaged palm for a split second before recognizing that she was doing something awkward. She jerked her hand away from his and began thinking aloud.

"Wig? It won't stay on my head forever. He'll find out about it sooner or later." She threw a long look at her blurred reflection in the fountain water. "A haircut? I could just tell him that summer is around the corner and I prefer to keep my head cool, literally. Only problem is, I can't afford one. I'm just like those bullies—penniless. All I have is my love for free speech, but I can't pay a barber with that."

Kurama intruded into her train of thought. "I could shoulder the bill for now…"

"_Hn_. Single _and_ altruistic. You must have legions of fangirls fawning all over you," She looked away, the faintest pink shrouding her face. "Thanks, but no, thanks. I would rather not be indebted to you in the financial sense of the word. I already am in another sense."

"Okay. Then what if…"

Out of the blue, Kurama rose and strode away, leaving his suggestion unsaid and the girl with a big orange question mark floating above her head. He returned almost immediately with a very familiar weapon in his hands. "Never entrust a Swiss army knife to teenage boys."

"Something tells me that it was not 'entrusted' to them."

Kurama sweat-dropped. "_Tonikaku_, the good thing is there's a pair of scissors with the set of knives." The memory of Urameshi Yusuke's impossible _youkai _mane tingled in his fingers. "I'm not a professional, but I _have_ cut another person's hair before…"

"But your wounded hand…"

The girl should have known better than to challenge the mind master at his own game. A moment—of refusal, then eventually of reluctant consent—later, he stood behind her, snipping and clipping with experienced, precise hands. She took a sidelong glance at their reflection in the water. "May I ask why you keep your hair long?" She paused. "Oh. I just did. _Mengo_."

Kurama smiled to himself. "Just a personal preference. Like how you prefer swings over seesaws."

"Has anyone ever told you that your hair resembles the tail of an animal? A furry animal. Like a fox."

_If only she knew that she wasn't that far off the mark_, mused Kurama. "_Hai_, I guess it does."

"Did you know that foxes are such pack rats? They store many things that are of value to them in their cozy little dens."

_And if only she knew what I store in my hair for safekeeping... _"Where did you learn that?" he asked just to humor the opinionated _ningen _who he knew by now leapt from one conversational topic to another in a random, haphazard manner.

"I read it in an animal trivia magazine."

"You sure like to read."

"So do you, _ne_?" She pointed to the book sticking out of his coat pocket. He never got to pick up from where he left off last time.

"_Un_._" First my wound; now my book. What an eye. I must be on my guard._

"Have you ever seen a fox den?"

_Inari! Of course I have! _Kurama stopped briefly—to silently remind himself not to give his _kitsune _self away—and then resumed trimming, calm as ever. "_Un._"

"_Hontou? _Take me there sometime."

Never had Kurama brought—or dared to bring—any human to his lair as Youko Kurama in all of his years in existence. He had never met one who asked him to do so. It was a peculiar feeling, new to the ancient demon.

He put the scissors down.

She splashed frosty fountain water onto her warm face and waited for the waves and ripples to ebb. She blinked at her fresh reflection and turned to Kurama.

"_Oyaji _and Ame-_kun_ were right. I'm a hermaphrodite now."

Kurama held his chin in thought, eyeing her new hairstyle. Without her hair accessory on, the boy-next-door bob suited her. She could pass for a particularly young one. She was only two inches or so taller than Hiei—_even taking his… elevated… hair into account_, estimated Kurama—and her hazy, translucent azure eyes were narrower than those of other girls her age. "It just makes you look a little androgynous, but you're still female."

"Kind of like you looking androgynous but you're still male?" She grinned at him in gratitude, small dimples revealing themselves at the corners of her mouth. "Then again, that's how a _bishounen _looks. Your fangirls must _love _you."

He didn't really know how to answer that. So he didn't.

"So," she swung her arms to and fro busily. "What time do you need to be where? I don't suppose that hanging out at public places and rescuing total strangers are really your Sunday hobbies."

Kurama chuckled lightly. "Six P.M. at that music school just outside the park."

The girl rolled up her jacket sleeve to read the time on her wristwatch. "You still have a good thirty minutes left. It should take less than that to walk with me. _Onegai_?" She lightly knocked herself on the head for the third time since they met. "Sometimes going home alone feels just as depressing as riding the seesaw alone. It can be done, but nothing beats doing it with a friend."

Kurama stuffed his hands into his coat pockets and began walking towards the direction to which she pointed.

It did not take long for the girl's eyes to blink, and then brighten. She smiled widely and happily strode alongside him.

After a few blocks, Kurama broke the silence between them. "If I didn't walk you home, I will never know your name."

"Oh." It suddenly dawned upon the girl that neither of them had actually introduced themselves yet. She knocked her head again, penalizing herself for her stupidity.

"Mayonaka Setsuki." Her eyes expressed a tacit trust in Kurama. "Before she died, _Haha_ told _Oyaji_ that she wanted me to be Setsuna. But _Oyaji_ wanted me to be Kisetsu. So they compromised. I am Tsuki to Ame-_kun_, but to everyone else, I am Setsu—which can be a male name, I know. And with my hair now…" She sighed in frustration. "It's official."

"It will grow back, Mayonaka-_san_," Kurama assured her. "Minamino _desu_."

"_Aa. _The name written ever so lovingly in countless teenage diaries, I presume," teased Setsu. "But what is your _real _name?"

A mild confusion registered in Kurama's face. _What other name does she want from me? _"Mayonaka-_san_, I really am Minamino Shuuichi."

"_Un. _But what's the name of the 'you' who wields power over—_Mengo._ I shouldn't have mentioned it." She lowered her gaze to the floor.

"_Sou_," Kurama understood perfectly. "Minamino has that power, too. As him, though, I am weaker. But I am really just one person."

He shot her an apologetic look. "If I'm confusing you, I have the Pollen of Forgetfulness with me…" He nonchalantly ran his fingers through his hair, secretively sifting through it in search of the pollen—just in case.

She shook her head with a serene smile. "No need. I will never make mention of this again." Suddenly she pounded her fist into her palm. "And let me guess: you keep that pollen of yours somewhere in your hair. _That _is why you keep it long and bushy. Good thing you're not allergic to whatever else you stash in there."

Kurama sweat-dropped. _How much of my person has this _ningen_ figured out in less than an hour?_

"Now I know that you do have legions of fangirls. Even when they deprive you of your clothes, you still have a few tricks up your... hair."

She chuckled to herself, and then stopped before a condominium building. Apparently she lived in one of the units of the twenty-storey tower.

"I've always dreamed of meeting someone like you," Setsu tucked her hands behind her back and clasped them together, facing straight ahead and refusing to meet his eyes.

Kurama's expression flickered. Only one other _ningen _had uttered those very words to his ears before…

"You are the weirdest gardener I have ever met."

"Gardener?" Kurama nearly face-faulted, his sweat-drop bigger than ever and his suspicions forgotten for the meantime. _Well, it could have been worse… _

"You make plants grow incredibly fast. You trim. You even collect pollen." She looked up at one of the windows of the building, her glassy eyes mirroring a truth forbidden to her lips. "The light is on. _Oyaji_ is home. I should go up soon."

"_Un._"

"Ku—" She cut herself short. "—_mo-tachi_. The clouds," Her tone softened. "They're drifting away."

Kurama gazed at the shadowing heavens of twilight, his wistful, romantic stance betraying none of the fierce turmoil raging within. _Did she really just speak of the clouds at random, or did she almost call me—_

"Minamino-_san—sempai." _

A vast, verdant meadow met eye to eye with a cloudless midday sky.

"Whatever you are, it makes you unique. Don't let your uniqueness get you down. _Ne_?"

He smiled warmly in response, his mind still racing a mile a minute. _Human encouragement is really something._

"I don't have many friends. You can probably tell why by now. I really do get into trouble for speaking to everyone this way," Setsu sighed. "Chatty, confusing, and rude do not a great speaker make. That's probably why _Oyaji_ practically drives me out of the house even on weekends—so that I could at least make a new friend somewhere. I hope you don't mind if I tell him about you later. Only if he asks at all."

Kurama was about to remind her not to divulge just what makes him so "unique" when, before he even parted his lips to speak, Setsu made a promise.

"But just the Minamino-_sempai_ you. My lips are sealed." She even pursed them together to demonstrate her point. "I'll even call you _Aiba_ instead."

"_Aiba_?"

"Short for _Akai Bara—_because your hair and eyes remind me of a red rose."

Kurama shook his head. He closed his eyes and held his chin in thought. _A red rose_, he reiterated in his mind. _If every creature in _Ningenkai_ could read me like a book…_

"_Yoroshiku_, Aiba," Setsu bobbed her head slightly, caramel wisps loosely framing her face. "Before we part, there's something you should know. About yourself."

"_Nani_?"

"Never bargain into anything that could cost you your life," Her tone was even more unsmiling than her lips. "More people than you can even imagine will miss you. And I don't just mean your fangirls."

She was grieving, haunted by his ghost in her mind. Her face was finality come to life, as if they would never meet again.

"You are loved, Minamino-_sempai_. You should learn to love yourself, too."

* * *

From the distance, Kurama could make out his stepbrother's guitar case.

"_Oi_! '_Nii-san_! Where have you been?" The younger Shuuichi bellowed to the older one seemingly taking his sweet time moseying toward him, lost in deep thought.

Kurama placed his hand behind his head in apology. He tugged at his stepbrother's heartstrings with something he had learned just recently. "_Mengo, otouto. _I didn't mean to make you worry about me."

His attempt backfired. "_Mengo? _Don't try to be cute, '_Nii-san_. And I wasn't worried!"

Kurama chuckled. He knew better. "So, how was music school? Did you enjoy yourself?"

"_Eh_, it was okay," shrugged the budding electric guitar player. "I just thought I'd already learn to pluck the cool way rock stars do."

"In time," assured Kurama. "Talent takes time."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. After all…" Shuuichi grinned at his '_Nii-san _playfully. "'It's a looong waaay to the top—if I wanna rock and ro-o-oll!'" He strummed a soundless imaginary guitar in the air, his playing wrist and arm flailing and thrashing about with heartfelt passion.

_My _otouto _and his movies_, Kurama thought with amusement, recalling _The School of Rock_—the charmer that attracted his stepbrother to his newfound pursuit. _Though _Ningenkai _movies get to be a bore, if not a farce, at least they broaden his horizons._

"_Tonikaku_," Shuuichi the Younger casually slung his guitar case over his shoulder. "Today's lesson ended early, so I looked for you in the park. But all I found there were the police rounding up three boys who were just lying around the playground area. They must've been so tired from playing, they just collapsed right there by some tree."

_An educated guess. That theory made more sense than what really happened. Irony is certainly enjoying herself today. _Kurama raised his wounded palm and stared at the red lace—a reminder of the truth. "Are they all right?"

"Yeah. Just a little groggy," Shuuichi peered at Kurama's bandaged hand closely. "'_Nii-san_! Your hand!"

Kurama clapped a hand on his _otouto_'s shoulder reassuringly. "It's just a little scratch. No reason to fret."

"_Mou_, '_Nii-san_!" wailed Shuuichi, his affection for his stepbrother overshadowing his 'tough guy' façade. "You always get yourself injured like that! One day, it isn't just gonna be your hand—your carelessness could get you killed! Just imagine how much '_Kaa-san_ will cry for you. Me and '_Tou-san_ and your friends and co-workers and former classmates will—"

"That's sweet of you, _otouto_. I don't want anything bad to happen to any of you, too."

"_Che_," The exasperated Shuuichi stuck out his lower lip. "You may be very smart, '_Nii-san, _but still—you need someone who'll remind you of what's good for you!"

"_You are loved, Minamino-_sempai_. You should learn to love yourself, too."_

Kurama smiled to himself. _Too bad._

_That someone will have forgotten me by now._

**Continued**

Please accept my apologies. It was not of my intention to write this fanfic as dialogue-heavy as it turned out to be. I just wanted Setsu-_chan _to be her own character, considering that she ain't my own OC.

Yup, she is an actual YYH character… but just a minor (and anonymous) one who appeared only in Episode 94. She was in just one scene, and in the company of her beloved Ame-_kun_, who—alas!—ain't my own creation either and really goes by a different codename in canon. Wild guesses, anyone?

*dodges rotten tomatoes* Ahem, first YYH fic, remember? Please go easy on me!

P.S. I would love to hear Kurama actually saying _mengo_. *squees* Wouldn't you?

**Japanese to English translations and abridged YYH glossary**

_**aa **_and _**un**_. Slang for _yes_ and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
_**akai**__. _Adjective describing something as having the color _red _(The color red itself is translated as _aka_)  
_**ame**_. _Rain_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**anou**_, _**eh**_, and _**hn**_. Disfluencies of speech (much like the English _uh _and _um_), not limited to the Japanese language  
_**arigatou**__. Thank you,_ less formal than _arigatou gozaimasu  
__**bara**__. Rose _(the flower)  
_**bishounen**_. _Beautiful young man  
_**-**_**chan**__. _An honorific used to address _girls_, animals, or anything that the speaker considers to be cute  
_**che**__. _A grunt or expression of disapproval, not limited to the Japanese language  
_**desu**_. Used in this fic to mean _I am_; a be verb of the Japanese language, the meaning of which differs according to context  
_**gomen**__. Sorry,_ less formal than _gomen nasai  
__**Haha**__. _An informal address for one's own _mother  
__**hai**__. Yes  
__**heh**_. An expression of casual indifference (much like a shrug)  
_**hontou**__. Really / is that true  
__**iie**__. No  
__**Inari**__. _The god of foxes; Kurama's god  
'_**kaa-san**__. _A contraction of _Okaa-san_, a respectful address for one's own _mother  
__**kisetsu**__. Season_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kitsune**_. _Fox  
__**kumo**__. Cloud  
_**-**_**kun**__. _An honorific used to address _boys_ or boyish girls  
_**Makai**_. _Demon World _(as opposed to the Human World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**manga**_. Japanese _comics_, such as YYH  
_**mangaka**__. _Creator of _manga  
__**mayonaka**__. Midnight_, used as a name in this fic  
_**mengo**__. _Not an actual Japanese word; Mayonaka Setsuki's version of _sorry _in this fic  
_**Minamino**__. Southern field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**mou**__. _Used in this fic as an expression for whining or complaining  
_**nani**__. What / what is it  
__**ne**__. _An expression for seeking confirmation (much like the English tag questions _isn't it _or _okay_)  
'_**nii-san**__. _A contraction of _Onii-san_, a respectful address for one's own _older brother  
__**ningen**__. Human / human being  
__**Ningenkai**__. Human World_ (as opposed to the Demon World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**oi**__. _An expression similar to the English _hey_, not limited to the Japanese language  
_**onegai**_. _Please_, less formal than _onegaishimasu  
__**otouto**__. Little brother  
__**owari**_. _End / conclusion  
__**oyaji**__. Old man_, used to address one's own father in this fic  
_**sakura**__. Cherry  
__**-sama**__. _An honorific used to address someone very respectfully, like _lord _or _master  
_**-**_**san**__. _An honorific used to address someone politely  
**-**_**sempai**__. _An honorific used to address an upperclassman  
_**setsuna**__. Moment (in time)_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Shuuichi**__. Excellence first_, used as a name in this fic  
_**sou**_** (**_**desu yo**_**)**. _Yes_, _I agree _and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
**-**_**tachi**__. _A pluralizing suffix (much like the English -s and -es); to be used with discretion because Japanese words can be singular or plural even without it, depending on the context  
_**tonikaku**_. _Anyway_, or other such words of transition  
'_**tou-san**__. _A contraction of _Otou-san_, a respectful address for one's own _father  
__**tsuki**__. Moon_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**Yoroshiku**__. Pleased to be of your acquaintance / meet you_; less formal than _yoroshiku onegaishimasu_, a greeting that the Japanese customarily say to someone they just met, roughly translating to _please take care of me / please treat me well  
__**youkai**__. Demon  
__**youki**__. Demon(ic) power_

There. This should suffice, even to those who know nothing of YYH. XD If I missed anything that you need translating or explaining, just say so in the Reviews page. Click away! \^-^/


	2. The Meek Masochist

**A/N  
Please note: This chapter is kick-ass **_**long**_**.**  
My original plot bunny gave birth to so many more baby bunnies that their population ballooned big time. I tried to stop the madness, though. I really tried.

The language here is also now more… colorful. Kuwabara is in this chapter, you see. Well, just wait until Yusuke steals the spotlight! XD  


* * *

This chapter is dedicated to my first reviewers: The insightful and inspiring **Umo**-_san_, the encouraging **soren011**-_san_, and my indeed patient friend **MAZTERMIND**-_chan_.

**2: The Meek Masochist  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **Bitter Gourd Trellis**

Kurama set his headphones upon his desk and sighed.

The clicks and clacks of fingers typing away on a keyboard suddenly stopped. The employee from the cubicle to his right was lost in starry-eyed awe from beholding the routine yet still irresistible phenomenon of Kurama taking his headphones off, wave upon red wave rippling down his back with a quiet beauty all its own.

Kurama whirled and met his co-worker's eyes. Mouth inexcusably agape, the distracted married man froze for a split second and reluctantly strained his attention back to his computer, even pretending to squint at the screen.

Kurama blinked. _Did he need something?_

Stiletto heels clip-clopped across the cold office floor. A tailored black blazer and matching pencil skirt were drawing closer. Kurama stood and leveled his eyes with the approaching figure.

"_Sugoi_, Minamino-_kun_," she purred, flashing an aged smile camouflaged with dark burgundy lipstick. "The last report just came in. Our new client is very pleased with you."

Kurama nodded. "Sugihara-_san _even agreed to five years' supply."

Smoky coal eyes widened, wrinkling heavily powdered forehead lines. "But did he…?"

"_Hai_," Kurama handed her a prepared file folder. "He already signed the contract. It's a done deal."

His supervisor opened the folder and stared at the document in disbelief. There was no mistaking the elusive Sugihara signature. It had been unattainable to all of her staff—and to her herself, but none of them knew that—for more years than she could remember. "Excellent, Minamino-_kun_! I will notify Hatanaka-_san_ right away. You've done a remarkable job today, young man! Have the rest of the day off! You deserve it!"

"_Arigatou gozaimasu_. If there is anything else I can do, I am on call."

"_Mochiron, _Minamino-_kun_. We'll always need you."

They briefly shook hands, and stiletto heels clopped away.

Kurama shut down his computer and tidied up his desk. He shot a glance at the office tower windows, where specks of golden sunlight escaped through small cracks in the venetian blinds. _Still daytime_, he told himself mentally. _The bookstore is still open._

He pushed his rolling office chair closer to his desk and tucked his trusty ballpoint pen into the breast pocket of his polo shirt. With briefcase in hand, he turned his heels to leave.

Within seconds, a chaotic cacophony of voices called after him.

"_Ne_, Minamino! Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"Leaving so soon, Minamino-_san_?"

"You're really done with that report already?"

"Don't go, Minamino-_sama_!"

"We're clubbin' tonight—wanna come?"

"Minamino-_kun_, could you—"

_Their collective reaction time is invariably improving, _Kurama noted. _They outdo themselves upon every opportunity._

He raised his hand, motioning for his officemates to quiet down while also subtly waving them farewell. "_Jitsu wa, _I still have an errand to accomplish today. See you in the morning."

With that, he ghosted through an eerily silent department room.

As soon as Kurama disappeared from view, tongues trickled, spilled, and spewed.

"Man, is he cool or what!"

"I know! Not a hair out of place even at the end of the day!"

"Dudes! Declaring your undying love for Minamino-_kun_ again?"

"What the f—_Urusai_!"

"Did 'cha see The Terror pay 'im a li'l visit? She _never_ goes t' anyone's space! Even when she's givin' 'em the boot, she makes 'em death march t' _her_ room! Like walkin' the plank!"

"Yeah! Maybe she's got a thing for him, too."

"He's her boytoy."

"But I thought Minamino-_sama _isn't into anyone—"

"It can't be! Minamino's too damn hot to still be single!"

"_Che!_ That bastard—the only reason he's workin' 'ere's because the big kahuna Hatanaka's his stepfather! This company will be a hand-me-down to 'im—"

"But he deserves it—"

"Not when he keeps sleeping his way up the corporate ladder, he doesn't!"

"He sleeps with his _stepfather_?!"

"Who knows? Maybe that's why he's real pretty!"

Meanwhile, now in another floor of the commercial tower, Kurama's brows knitted. _Another day, another fabricated scandal,_ he sighed. _If only my hearing acuity were not that of a_ kitsune_… a _youkai _one at that…_

With his knuckles, he lightly rapped on a closed door with a gilt nameplate.

Behind the door, an elderly bass voice managed to blurt out a "Come in" amidst a heated one-way argument.

Kurama turned the knob to find Hatanaka Kazuyu on the telephone with a subordinate apparently in danger of termination within the next few minutes. His stepfather's eyes may have had his undivided attention, but the seasoned businessman was clearly preoccupied with lashing out his frustrations on his poor listener.

The power-dressed redhead simply pointed out the door, wordlessly informing his stepfather that he was about to punch out of the Bundy clock and that they would not ride in the car home together tonight. The man nodded in understanding.

"Take care," he called out to his stepson. Then he turned back to the other end of the line. "Not _you_!"

Kurama chuckled in amusement and gently shut the door behind him.

Soon he was relieved to have abandoned the office towers. _These _ningen _may not be the least bit aware of what truly makes me "different" from them, but their exclusion instincts are getting troublesome. _Even the day guard of Tower One eyed him quizzically as he left the building.

But as he always did, he chose to pay no heed. Kurama may not harrumph and resort to the cold shoulder as a certain _jaganshi _does as a matter of course, but he himself was numb. Hiei was desensitized by an entire lifetime of rejection from those supposed to love him as well as cut-throat treatment from all those who feared him. Yet the younger _youkai_ remained somewhat pliant, changeable—the very existence of his twin sister Yukina and her lifelong safety kept Hiei alive and much, much more than kicking.

Kurama, in contrast, was human. Of course, he was not only human. But unlike other _ningen_, he perfectly knew just what set him apart from all other _ningen_. Most human beings lose themselves in the enchantment and wonder of finding their "true" selves, of seeking the rarest identity befitting them. Kurama felt stagnant. From his birth as a _ningen_, he needed not find himself. No identity crisis, no trying on different hats to see the best fit, no personal search for the meaning of his life.

He may have been torn for a while, between assuming the form of Youko once again after nineteen years of humanity and remaining as Minamino until the expiration of his _ningen _body. But Kurama was not very pliant, changeable. Ruthless as Youko, humane as Minamino—the dichotomy was old and boring to him. After all, he had already experimented with both ends of the spectrum, and been a jack of all trades.

And so was a master of none.

Kurama was lost in thought all the way to the bookstore.

_Where is it? _He was to purchase a cookbook. Minamino Shiori had grown a fascination for Mexican food since his stepbrother Shuuichi coaxed—_"brainwashed" could be more appropriate, _mused Kurama—the family to dine in some random fast-food taco joint last Sunday night.

He did not mind the super-sized burritos, really. But his most unforgettable family excursion—ever—was the trip going home, when Shuuichi-_kun _and their '_Tou-san _had mastered flatulence to the level of an art form. Tears escaped his eyes. He _had _to roll down that car window, lest he suffocated to untimely death.

_Human-produced methane in large quantities can be fatal!_ He shuddered from the mere memory.

Suddenly, his mental images of his family blurred out of focus, only to be replaced by three distinctly memorable faces. Yusuke was the mastermind of it all, sitting beside him at the backseat of the Toyota. His accomplice Kuwabara-_kun_ was behind the wheel, passing gas in sync with his boy while driving merrily home. And an extraordinarily bloated Hiei occupied the front passenger seat, as quiet as Kurama's '_Kaa-san_, but much more royally pissed with the ongoing crime perpetrated in the agonizingly enclosed space than Shiori would ever be. But unlike her, he would fart, too.

Kurama missed the _Tantei_.

"Someone smiling to oneself could be mildly disturbing, yet amusing to watch. _Ne,_ Ame-_kun_?"

Kurama's eyes widened. _That voice! _He did not think that he would ever hear it again, much less so soon.

Familiar eyes bore into him from across the other end of the long bookshelf. Kurama knew of no other _ningen _with orbs as glassy and piercingly blue as those of Touya of the _Shinobi_.

"_Mengo_," Mayonaka Setsuki knocked on her own head lightly. "I didn't mean to spy on you. I just saw you and stopped to watch for a moment."

She obviously had company. A jacket sleeve the wearer of which Kurama could not see yanked her away, and she vanished even before he could part his lips to respond.

"What do you think you're doing?" spat a muffled baritone from behind the bookcase. "How do you expect a total stranger to understand what '_mengo' _means?"

"Well, he heard me comment about his smiling to himself—"

"So next time, don't say anything in the first place!"

_They strike a healthy balance, _Kurama chuckled to himself as he reached for a cookbook on the shelf. The _ningen_ girl's mouth still got her into trouble, just as he remembered her. _Although she doesn't remember me._

He then returned the book to its proper place. It had recipes for too many different variations of The Dreaded Burrito.

As he leafed through the pages of another Mexican recipe book, and another, and another, a quiet commotion ensued behind the bookcase.

"Tsuki," drawled the male voice. "What did we come here for?"

"You're mean, Ame-_kun_. You don't even pretend to like the same things that I do, such as hanging out at bookstores."

"_N-Nani_? I didn't say anything like that! You're jumping to conclusions again!"

"So what exactly _did_ you say?"

"I just don't know what we came here for. Tell me!"

An exasperated sigh. "You know Ame-_kun_, sometimes you make me believe that I'm expecting too much from you. Or that I'm thinking too hard."

"That's because you _are_."

"See? You _are _mean."

The two fell silent. Kurama moved to another bookshelf in hopes of finding the cookbook that Shiori would appreciate most.

Out of the blue, Setsu's companion cleared his throat. Then he sounded milder… kinder. "Yesterday you said you needed colored pencils."

"_Aa. _You remembered after all," Even Setsu's usually tamed tone suddenly took on a dreamy air. _Smitten_, deemed Kurama. _She's in love with him._

"Your next _doujinshi _is going to be colored, then." _And it's not unrequited, either._ Kurama buried his nose in a particularly thick cookbook.

"_Un. _But I believe that it's time for me to move on from being a _doujinka_," Several shuffling movements broke the girl's words. "I'm thinking of creating a _manga _of my own."

"What'll it be about?" The mood of the barely audible conversation had taken a 180-degree turn. He may have been scolding her just moments ago, but Setsu's male friend now sounded genuinely interested in, and even encouraging of, her.

A dark skirt billowed at the corner of Kurama's eye. Mayonaka-_san _was not facing him, but he could tell that beneath her unzipped black sweater was her school uniform.

_Red, with golden hems and buttons... Meiou? _Kurama asked in spite of himself.

"For now, its title is _Himuro_," shared the budding _mangaka _as she rummaged around for colored pencils. "Himuro-_kun _is 'small but terrible,' with an acid tongue and a thirst for blood. Though I can't help portraying him with a quiet, placid nature; misunderstood because of his gruff, unapproachable façade. He will meet Eiku-_chan_, a stronger but more tortured soul than he, and she will eventually become his lord and master. Together, they—"

"_Mangaka_-to-be Tsuki," interrupted her companion.

_Okashii_, Kurama's brows furrowed deeply. _That Himuro character… Eiku as well. Are they really…? _He blinked his suspicions away. _Impossible. She can't know either of them by name, let alone be aware of their very existence._

"Here—" The redhead overheard a pack of something being tossed. "—Colored pencils. Sixty colors. This enough for your first _manga_?"

A soft, low breath escaped the girl's lips.

_I've heard that sigh of disappointment before_.

Kurama was right. "You know me, Ame-_kun_. I can't afford them right now. I only have enough for a book that I need."

_Still the same, all right._ Kurama finally found it: a Mexican cookbook, the recipes of which were written in Japanese—just the book that his _'Kaa-san _could read on her own. _'Kaa-san will love this._

Suddenly an uncomfortable cry pierced through the bookstore. "What are you doing, Ame-_kun_? Whatever you do, please don't_—_"

A cash register let out a tiny, tinny TING.

"—buy them."

"Thank you, _okyaku-san_. Please come again," said the cashier cursorily.

Kurama emerged from the bookshelves just as Setsu's obstinate friend was stepping out of the shop, a biker's helmet under the crook of his arm. With only the boy's back visible from where he was, Ame-_kun _observably had raven hair and was sporting a navy blue jacket. The boy was roughly the same height as he himself was, if not slightly taller. _He's familiar… Who could he—_

Without even looking at her, the boy casually flung the package of colored pencils to his girlfriend. "I bought it for me, but I'm lending it to you indefinitely. Do you have a problem with that, Tsuki?"

And without waiting for her response, he slipped his helmet on and left the bookstore.

_I've seen him before—I'm certain of that. I should follow him._

Kurama's suspicions propelled himself outside the bookstore in the boy's tracks. The eyes that greeted him were entirely shrouded in a dark-tinted, near pitch-black, visor. _I can't see his face at all. He's well-camouflaged for someone in broad daylight_, he winced. _Could it be he doesn't want me to see who he is?_

Meanwhile, inside the local bookstore, the lone employee of the shop took a break from her professional life to pry into her customer's personal one. "You're lucky to have a boyfriend like him, _okyaku-san_! He's very handsome."

Setsu's face bled internally at the comment. "Oh. But—"

"I know boyfriend material when I see one," the cashier winked knowingly at her teenage customer. "It's sweet, what he did for you."

"Don't believe him," The love interest in denial crossed her arms in front of her chest. "He has no need for colored pencils. Or any other art medium, for that matter. He doesn't even draw. We have little in common, actually."

"So he really bought them just for you! That's even sweeter!" Another wink.

Setsu frowned. "How do I convince you to stop that?"

_How do I convince you to stop that? _Kurama frowned.

The uncooperative Ame-_kun _was noisily revving his bike, its exhaust pipe spewing toxic fumes right into Kurama's highly sensitive _kitsune _nose.

He was already considering splitting that Ame-_kun_'s helmet open by cracking his whip at it—_however, I might end up whipping more than just his helmet_—when two slim yet powerful arms suddenly wrapped themselves around his waist.

_Nani— _Kurama whirled to see the bastard who had just launched a surprise attack on him from behind.

He found two: one who blew him a flying kiss, and another whose arms were still hooked to his torso, relentless and tight.

"_KYA_! Minamino-_sama_!" chorused his former classmates in high-pitched unison.

"We really, really missed Minamino-_sama_!" wailed the girl whose hands were now purposely and intimately roaming around his chest.

"We can't stop thinking about Minamino-_sama_ and talking about Minamino-_sama_!" gushed the other.

"_Hn?_" Through the glass shop window, a bewildered Setsu caught sight of Kurama with his new companions.

"What is it, _okyaku-san_?" blinked the cashier, following the direction of Setsu's intent gaze with her own eyes. The other handsome customer was now just outside the door, in the arms of a glamorous college girl.

"K—" The female customer traded curious looks with the cashier. "_—owaii_. She just glomped him. From behind. That's an outright invasion of his privacy, if not sexual harassment. If I were him, I would not like that one bit."

"Maybe they're dating."

"Impossible."

Now the cashier eyed Setsu skeptically through thick-rimmed glasses. "How can you be so sure?"

"I just know."

The cashier reeled back upon hearing her customer's words. They were cold in their certainty; they were truth beyond all doubt. All of a sudden, the teenage girl sounded decades beyond her years—authoritative, commanding, and seemingly offended.

The staggered bookstore cashier took her glasses off and wiped them with the hem of her blouse. Something that she could not even attempt to describe about the female customer shook her to the very core and caused the heat to escape from her eyes, leaving a film of mist on her eyeglasses.

"_Mengo_. I just don't agree with what you were suggesting. Look at them. I believe that he's not even very comfortable with them."

The cashier donned her spectacles back on to find an apologetic-looking _okyaku-san_ before her. Any trace of the young girl intimidating her and racking her nerves must have simply been a figment of her own imagination.

The long-haired male _okyaku-san_ from earlier returned, this time with two hotties on either side of him. Each had an arm coiled around one of his, both chatting away as though they would both permanently lose their voices the next day. With an obliging but observably forced smile—and an exasperated sweat-drop—on his face, Kurama seemed more a prisoner than a playboy.

The cashier nodded. "_Sou desu ne_."

Setsu suddenly pounded her fist onto her palm. "That reminds me—I need to buy a gardening book."

And she skirted off to bookshelves far away.

Kurama followed with his eyes. _Gardening? Does she remember that she once called me a—_

"Minamino-_sama _isn't listening!"

His attention was brought back to (earsplitting) reality, where he was stuck in between a rock and a hard place.

"_Warii kedo. _What were you saying?" Kurama managed to squeeze in amid their rants and gushes.

"We were saying we've been thinking about Minamino-_sama _ever since we entered Meiou _Daigaku_, but Minamino-_sama_ didn't go to college with us, instead Minamino-_sama_ chose to work, but we didn't know where Minamino-_sama_ works, so we asked and asked and asked and asked and asked our classmates who aren't Minamino-_sama_'s classmates anymore, anyway we asked them where Minamino-_sama_ works, but they didn't know either, until one time, there were these two boys who were trying to get into our pants, but they weren't even cute, so we just asked them where Minamino-_sama_ works now, and they said at Minamino-_sama_'s stepfather's office, but we didn't even know Minamino-_sama_ has a stepfather, so we didn't know Minamino-_sama_'s stepfather's name, or where to find Minamino-_sama_, and why didn't Minamino-_sama_ ever call us after graduation?! We wanted to see Minamino-_sama_ again!"

Halfway through the story, Kurama deeply regretted having asked them to repeat themselves. _Is this still chivalry or cowardice? _

"_Ne, onna-tachi_."

The honorary officials of the Minamino Shuuichi Fan Club stared down upon a high school girl whose closely cropped hair and narrow, menacing eyes detracted from her femininity.

"I couldn't help overhearing your tragic love story," The interloper's tone dripped heavily of sarcasm. "After all, I'm not deaf. But I'm not so sure that your beloved 'Minamino-_sama_' isn't, due to his more proximate and prolonged exposure to the two of you."

"Hey!" barked one of the girls. "Who do you think you are? We're your _sempai_!"

"Oh. Silly me," Gardening book in hand, Setsu smugly shrugged out of her coat, revealing the Meiou Private High School uniform beneath. "You're right—both of you _are _my _sempai_. All of us even attend Meiou. But guess what? I'm _ashamed _to have you as my _sempai. _I would rather not have _sempai _who refer to themselves in the collective all the time, and whose only thought consists of, as you yourself say, 'cute boys'."

"How dare you insult us! We're not stupid! We're already in college, and you're just in high school!"

"There. You have once again demonstrated my point. 'We,' 'we,' 'we.' We this, we that. Neither of you have any sense of individuality," scoffed the opinionated young girl. "As regards our age difference—age and educational attainment have nothing to do with one's intellect. If anything, your words and behavior only go to show that the two of you are immature."

In a fiery fit of rage, the groupies lunged towards their _kouhai_. "Why you—"

"Enough!"

Kurama's two admirers whirled in shock to face Kurama himself, then a newcomer in a helmet. The cashier was close behind them, trembling.

"Who are _you?_"

The helmet rose, finally revealing twin lavender flames smoldering in its wake.

Kurama bit back a gasp. _That _was why he seemed so familiar! He was—

"This troublemaker's bodyguard."

Nimble, practiced fingers lithely combed Setsuki's sandy auburn hair. Kaname forgot its new length, though, and ended up lightly digging his fingers onto his girlfriend's neck and back.

So much for the tender, sensuous moment! Everyone sweat-dropped.

_She was right—he really prefers her hair long, _Kurama chuckled to himself.

"_Dakara_," The sexy baritone continued as if nothing was amiss. "Whoever lays a finger on her will answer to me_._"

A long, static-charged silence electrified the shop. At some point, the cashier was unsure of who were staring lovingly and glaring loathingly at whom anymore.

Hostility still crackling in the air, the college cuties exchanged silent glances and nods. Then with throbbing, heart-shaped eyes, they suddenly threw themselves at the dark-haired young man.

"_KAWAII!_" Both squealed in perfect harmony. "WE LOVE YOU!"

The cashier face-faulted. Kurama sweat-dropped. Setsu massaged her temples.

"Are they now…?" The usually opinionated girl found herself speechless.

Kurama laughed quietly. "So it seems."

"Just make them leave!" exclaimed the cashier.

As the sorority sisters pledged their undying love to the cool, unavailable, anonymous hunk in the wordiest manner humanly possible, Tsuki sighed and turned to a hopelessly surrounded Ame. "Go if you must. Take them with you. I can wait."

The biker slipped his helmet on and turned on his heels, his new not-so-secret admirers in hot pursuit of him. Deafening engine throttles ricocheted throughout the little bookstore, and glass-shattering cries of "WAIT FOR US, HANDSOME!" soon drowned with the distance.

The bookstore cashier and her two remaining customers heaved a synchronized sigh of relief.

Kurama retrieved the cookbook that he had set his sights on earlier and placed it on the counter. Setsu followed suit with the gardening book.

As the cashier scrambled back to her post, Setsu dropped her gaze to the floor, remorseful. "_Mengo saina."_

"_Na-Nani_?"

"_Gomen nasai_," interpreted Kurama. "I, too, apologize for all the trouble."

The dimples on the corners of Setsu's lips deepened in silent satisfaction.

_That's right, Mayonaka-_san_—I know what you meant, _he told her in his mind._ And if I know you even better, you are going to talk to me any time now._

"Minamino-_sempai_."

He hid a knowing smile. "_Hai_?"

"I may not know you—not that well, anyway; just from what those Boy-Crazies were saying about you—but I believe that you need to be told: There is a fine line between meekness and masochism."

_She's analyzing me again._

"You give too much of yourself to other people. And human beings could never resist a free meal."

"_Eeehhh_?" exclaimed the cashier, who did not bother to rush the transactions of her two customers. She had nothing and no one else to attend to, anyway.

Setsu locked eyes with Kurama. "_You _know what I mean, _ne_? Because you give too much of yourself, other people tend to take too much of you."

By now, Kurama was expecting this from the opinionated _ningen. _"What makes you say that?"

"You have yet to perfect the practice of Tact," Spoken like a _sensei_. Kurama wondered if the high school student was actually a generation or so older than Genkai-_shihan_. "Tactfully saying 'no' to people whom you aren't interested in."

"Your 'bodyguard' was right. You do jump to conclusions easily."

"You mean that you are interested in at least one of them?"

Mayonaka Setsuki had very nearly achieved perfect monotony in that last statement. She would have posed as completely uninterested in his response had it not been for the faintest lilt in her tone that emphasized the word "are."

"He's right again. You shouldn't talk to strangers so much."

"You haven't answered my question," Setsu's version of trash talk came in the form of brutal frankness. "To be fair to me, I'll change the topic on you, too—right now. You were obviously eavesdropping on us."

"I don't see why you're offended," Kurama reasoned, consciously using her own logic against her. "Considering you got yourself into what could have been a bloody catfight from doing something that you could also call Eavesdropping."

"But you eavesdropped first."

"Regardless. You eavesdropped on my former classmates too, without being aware of my having done so to you and your friend beforehand. The order in which we committed our offenses doesn't matter. We both did the same thing."

"A case of the pot calling the kettle black," muttered Setsu under her breath.

"And the pot is boiling from her temper." Kurama's lips curled in victory.

Setsu harrumphed and looked away. Her mind may be running at full speed, but Kurama was a longtime veteran of the hunt, and loved the thrill of the chase.

"That is because the kettle's shrill whistling is getting to the pot's nerves," she cast a sidelong glance at him. "To give credit where credit is due, I like the way that you think."

_I know_, chuckled Kurama's inner voice. Youko Kurama's? Most likely.

"But I often reconsider my own preferences."

"There always has to be a catch." _A poor sport, _sighed Kurama. _Then again, what is hunting if not for the resistance of the hunted? _He had no doubt about it—he enjoyed intellectual banter even more than the next guy. _The _ningen _mind… its complexity and threshold… a most beautiful creature_.

The cashier, who understood nothing and no one in the past few minutes, handed Kurama his cookbook and receipt. As she was about to key in the price of the gardening book, her female customer let out a small gasp.

Without warning, Setsu withdrew the book from the counter and replaced it with a diary notebook that she had picked up from a nearby table.

"Are you buying this instead, _okyaku-san_?" The cashier eyed the last diary in stock, disappointment and disapproval involuntarily written on her face.

"_Hai_, Midori-_san,_" Setsu called out as she returned the book to its original place. "_Mengo _about suddenly changing my mind. I saw your employee nametag just now, you see."

Kurama had already finished his business in the bookstore, yet found himself still inside out of sheer curiosity. _Nametag? What arbitrary train of thought is this _ningen _following now?_

Apparently the cashier shared his sentiments. "My nametag?"

Setsuki handed the cashier the exact amount for the notebook. "While I was looking around, the storage room was open. A calendar was inside. Underneath the date today were the words 'Midori birthday'."

_Aa. Observant as before, _Kurama closed his eyes and cupped his chin in thought. _But why the journal?_

The meddlesome but well-meaning student pulled out a green colored pencil from her new pack, flipped the diary open, and began scribbling on its first page. "I also noticed, Midori-_san_, that you had been eyeing this since Ame-_kun _and I arrived here. So," she handed the notebook back to the cashier. "Here you go."

Stunned, Midori read the short note on her new journal: "Happy birthday, Midori-_san_! Your new friend, Mayonaka Setsuki."

"I hope you don't mind. This is such short notice."

The birthday celebrant shook her head, bespectacled eyes smiling. "I still don't understand just how you knew I wanted this. _Arigatou gozaimasu_, Setsuki-_chan_!" She winked at her new friend. "But are you still going to buy that book?"

"Oh, never mind that," Setsu shrugged it off. "I can always buy it next time. Or if first comes to worst, I'll borrow a book just like it in the Meiou library."

An alumnus of Meiou Private High School himself, Kurama was well aware of the difficulty of borrowing a horticultural book from its library: such books were catalogued in the reserve section. _Any Meiou student has to settle additional fees in order to gain access to the reserve section, _he reminded himself. _If she_ _had that option in the first place, she would have already done so. _

"But Setsuki-_chan_, don't you need the book immediately?"

"It can wait," the girl grinned, the urgency more manifest in her eyes than in her words. "I was just supposed to read on how to grow _Momordica charantia_ on a trellis, anyway."

_Goya,_ Kurama said to himself. _A vine of the_ Cucurbitaceae_ or gourd family. Its tendrils bear yellow flower and the bitterest vegetable known to _ningen _taste. _

"_Momo…_?" blinked Midori. "You want to grow peaches?"

"_Iie. _That's its scientific name. It goes by several common names. In English, it's balsam pear, bitter gourd, or bitter melon. In Japanese, it's _goya._"

"_Aa, goya!_" repeated Midori. "But that's really bitter! Do you like eating that?"

"I don't mind it. But it's not for me. _Oyaji _must partake in his fair share of it once in a while_._"

_Her father must be a diabetic, _concluded Kurama. _The leaves of the _goya_ may be boiled to extract lectin, which lowers the concentration of glucose in the _ningen _body. A commendable medication for those with diabetes mellitus. _

"He forbids me from buying it fresh from the market. He also refuses to take medicines that contain its extract. So the loophole in all that would be to plant it myself," Setsu bit her lower lip. "Right now, despite my best efforts, nothing is growing in our trellis. So I thought of seeking help from that book."

_It's not in season, _Kurama pointed out in silence. _Goya typically grows in a tropical environment or climate, subtropical at best. You will have to wait for summer._

In a conscious effort to put the somber subject behind them, Setsu pounded her fist onto her palm. "_Tonikaku, _Midori-_san_, have you ever watched the American movie entitled _Pay It Forward_?"

Kurama distanced himself from the two, eavesdropping in spite of himself. As scatterbrained a speaker as she seemed, the _ningen_ jumped from one conversational topic to another in a most interesting manner: seemingly at random, but upon careful notice, actually related.

"As opposed to the concept of 'payback,' in which one 'pays back' an evil deed through revenge," Setsu went on. "One can also choose to 'pay' a good deed 'forward.' I'm happy that Ame-_kun _bought me these pencils, so I thought of paying his good deed forward by at least trying to make someone else happy, too. I believe in that. Do you, Midori-_san_?"

A curtain of crimson veiling his eyes, Kurama stepped out of the shop. Mayonaka-_san _had just made a new friend for today, and they deserved quality time together.

"_OI, _KURAMA!" rasped a brusque, gravelly male voice.

Plodding along the sidewalk was Kuwabara Kazuma in disheveled, creased university uniform. He was clutching a black book-bag propped upside down on his shoulder.

"Kuwabara-_kun_," Kurama raised a hand—his own rendition of a wave. "_Hisashiburi_."

"Yeah, it _has _been a long time!" The friendly Kuwabara clapped him on the back and slung a muscular arm around his neck. "What'cha been up to?!"

"I got off work early today," Kurama slightly held up his briefcase for the younger man to see. "Where are Okubo, Sawamura, and Kirishima?"

A Kuwabara Kazuma swaggering through the city streets without his gang flanking him was a spectacle few and far between. Yet he coolly brushed the matter aside. "_Eh_, we got exams tomorrow! I told 'em happy hour can wait."

"Your sense of responsibility is admirable, Kuwabara-_kun_," grinned Kurama. "How is Yukina-_san_?"

The compliment as well as the name of the beautiful _koorime _flooded Kuwabara's blood to his face. "GYAAA, Yukina-_san _is helping me study for my exams! She's very happy we're now living under the same roof!" boasted the college freshman, his heartbeat even louder than his shrieks of excitement. "And I have a plan that will make her even happier! This year I, Kuwabara-_sama_, will find her brother for sure! I swear on my manhood!" He even pounded on his puffed-up chest for emphasis.

"_Un,_" Kurama nodded uncomfortably. _I wonder when someone will finally tell him the truth_. His facial expression flinched in guilt. _When Hiei no longer has the ability to summon fire dragons, commit cold-blooded murder, vanish and reappear in the blink of an eye, and glare?_

All of a sudden, Kuwabara yelled, "_ABUNAI!_"

A gasp caught in Kurama's throat as a speeding delivery truck was fast approaching a brown puppy helplessly frozen in the smack middle of the road.

He heard Kuwabara's signature "_REI KEN!" _He himself instinctively reached for a red rose beneath his hair. The rose was already metamorphosing into his Rose Whip when it dawned upon him that even if he intended to get the pup out of the way, the thorns of the whip would most likely critically injure the animal, if not take its life. _That would defeat the purpose of saving it in the first place! _He was afraid that Kuwabara would resort to a similar line of action with his _Rei Ken _and inadvertently prompt a similar result. Withdrawing his _youki _from his rose, Kurama thrust a restraining hand in front of Kuwabara. "Kuwabara-_kun_!"

The world spiraled around him for an instant. He choked back a gasp and blinked the blur away. But the puppy had already somehow wound up unscathed and safe in the arms of a bewildered, flabbergasted Kuwabara-_kun_.

However, his own hand remained imposed before Kuwabara's body, level with the hefty man's chest. _How did he rescue it without either moving my arm out of his way, or me seeing him move at all? His reflexes, they must be—_

"Oh boy, that was WEIRD!" The swordsman spluttered quickly, carelessly. "Some _youkai _that was! I didn't even think there were still _youkai _in this city!" He immediately digressed. "Well, there's you, of course, and Hiei—wherever the hell that pipsqueak is—but man, that guy was real freaky—"

"Kuwabara-_kun_! Who is 'that guy'?" If there was anything that Kurama could not stand for very long, it was being utterly oblivious of something that he should at least know, or know even better than those who do.

"If you didn't see 'im, he must've frozen you, too!" Kuwabara jogged his mind to recall his entire encounter with whoever it was he met but Kurama did not. "He didn't say his name. A _youkai _with the power to freeze time."

_Time? Is his power similar to Mukuro's _youki_—the ability to cut through space? An S-class _youkai…_? _"How did you see him? What did he tell you?"

"I'll tell you all about it while we're walking this li'l fella home, _na_ Kurama?" Unconditional affection in his eyes, the big softie gazed upon the frail young creature in his hands. "The _youkai _knew where it came from and gave me the address. We gotta hurry, though—I promised Yukina-_san _I'd be home before sundown so we can hit the books. Maybe she'll fall asleep before me this time, and—!" He froze in a part horny, mostly goofy face warp. "GYAHAHA!" Blood sprayed down his nose at the mere prospect.

"Okay. But try to recall as much as you can. This is important. He might be an adversary."

The two, Kuwabara cradling a now peacefully dreaming puppy in his arms, headed towards its home. A long, thin object under Kurama's right shoe rolled away when he stepped on it.

Endless grass-green eyes rested upon a pencil of the same hue.

A soft gasp escaped his lips. His eyes instinctively darted past the entrance of the bookstore. The cashier was alone again.

Swerving further and further away was a two-wheeler with two riders—a helmeted driver in the arms of a female passenger in a black jacket and high school uniform. Who knew that she was wearing faded jeans under that skirt?

_They're getting away! _A bead of sweat trickling from his brow, he clenched the pencil in his fist. The image of a recognizable residential tower flickered in his mind. _But not for long._

* * *

"This _youkai _you met just materialized from out of nowhere, jumped before the truck and 'froze' it in time, retrieved the dog, and gave it to you?"

"Heck, yeah!" Kuwabara's eyes glittered at the mere memory of the events that unfolded exclusively before his eyes. "Everyone I could see stopped movin'! The cars, the people walkin', people in the shops—even _you_ weren't sayin' anything the whole time!"

"Why do you suppose he showed himself to you alone?"

The Chosen One placed his hand behind his head and guffawed loudly, proud of himself. "Dunno! Maybe he just sensed I'm an animal person," he shrugged, still beaming from ear to ear. "But he should've known I like cats better than dogs."

Kurama's brows furrowed. His fingers nearly pinched his chin as he contemplated aloud. "Earlier you said he trusts _ningen _with high _reiki…_"

"Ah, _sou ka!_" exclaimed Kuwabara, accidentally tightening his hold on the puppy, which at once awoke from its nap with a yelp. "He said I had the highest wavelength of _reiki _around. So I was the only one he didn't freeze!"

Kurama begged to differ. _If that _youkai _truly was a _youkai, _he would have approached one of his kind than any _ningen, _regardless of_ ki _wavelength_. _And I was next to Kuwabara-_kun_… Surely the _youkai _could have sensed my _youki_… _

"Kuwabara-_kun," _Kurama's deep, husky alto sent shivers down the swordsman's spine. "Did the _youkai tell _you that he is indeed a _youkai_?"

Kuwabara scratched his head. "Now that y' mention it, he didn't say anything about that! But I really get the feeling he was no ordinary _ningen—_he was too strong!"

"Was he indeed male?"

"_EEHHH?" _wailed Kuwabara. He had not expected that question at all. He pointed a shaky, accusatory finger at his good friend. "Who are you and what have you done with Kurama?!"

"I'm serious, Kuwabara-_kun,_" The resident strategist's grim expression confirmed his words. "What did he look like?"

"All right, Kurama, but I don't see where you're goin' with this!" The wielder of the Spirit Sword was entertaining doubts about the _kitsune_-slash-_ningen _still being the brains of the _Tantei_. "He had blond hair. And blue eyes."

"Are you sure that his hair was not brown? Could you estimate his height?"

"_Brown_?" Now Kuwabara was fully convinced that there must be a glitch somewhere in the cogwheels of Kurama's mind. "No way, man! His hair was just like gold! I even rubbed my eyes when I first saw 'im! And he was about your height, I think." He stroked his chin. "Yeah, he was. He stood so close to us, I saw it."

_Golden hair… Roughly my height… _Kurama conjured a hazy image in his mind. _The only physical feature that checks out is the eye color. And she couldn't have faked her height_—_anyone could only pretend to be shorter than he truly is, and not taller. Unless it's really not her…_

"So tell me, Kurama," A gruff voice intruded in his thoughts. "Thinkin' of anyone in particular?"

"I can't say for sure. The only one I have in mind happens to be female, and closer to Yusuke's height than to mine."

"Well, he was no chick, but he was one helluva pretty boy, I tell ya!" Kuwabara pushed the doorbell of the residence with the exact address that the mysterious informant gave him.

A middle-aged housewife strode to the front gate, a young boy clinging to her apron following close behind. Upon catching sight of the puppy in Kuwabara's arms, the boy cried out, "Aiba-_chan_! Mama! Aiba-_chan _came home!"

"Aiba-_chan_?" repeated Kuwabara. "But the guy said it was just '_Ba-chan_!"

_Aiba… _Kurama's expression flickered. "Kuwabara-_kun, _how did the rescuer tell you the dog's name?"

"At first I thought the dumbass was callin' me his granny or somethin' 'cause he kept saying '_Ba-chan_," Beaming toothily, Kuwabara handed the puppy to its owner. "But he did say somethin' like he knows some guy with the dog's real name, so he'll call the dog '_Ba_-_chan_ instead. I'm not too sure, 'cause to be honest I didn't get what he said. _Warii_, Kurama."

"_Iiya_," Kurama sounded distant, lost in thought. "That's good enough."

As they walked away, Kurama eyed the pencil in the breast pocket of his polo shirt. _The Pollen may not have worked on you after all._

"_Dooshita_, Kurama?"

"_Betsuni_," The redhead looked up and smiled dismissively. "Though it is getting late…"

"AAAH, _SHIMATTA_!" yelled Kuwabara at the top of his lungs, his eyes wide as saucers. "Yukina-_san_! She must be worried sick about me!" He braced himself to run like the wind: his fists balled up, arms and knees bent, and legs raring to go. "Gotta go, Kurama!"

Kurama chuckled light-heartedly. "Take care."

"_O!" _The infatuated young man tore into the wind and raced towards the sun sinking in the horizon. Kurama watched his figure fade into the distance. Then, just as hurriedly as he had left, Kuwabara's legs sprinted backwards and stopped before a surprised Kurama.

"Ku… ra… ma…" The carrot-haired softie struggled to utter in between short, clipped breaths, his arms still poised to resist wind and his legs still running in place. "Forgot… to… tell ya… The _youkai… _or whoever he was, damn it! He… wasn't so evil to me… I could sense… he's okay… After all… he saved a dog's life…!" He took several mouthfuls of air. "He didn't use his power for evil… or anythin' like that… So you shouldn't be too suspicious of everyone all the time… There're still trustworthy people, _youkai_, or whatever out there, Kurama… _Ja_!"

With that, he broke into a frantic dash a second, final time.

Kurama found himself reflecting upon his close friend's words of wisdom. _Despite his restless, reckless ways,_ _Kuwabara-_kun_ has always been a good judge of character. He is also very trusting of others—a gift that I must confess I lack._

"_I believe it's called Trust. You could choose to just trust me."_

The memory curled Kurama's lips. He drank in the tranquil scenery before him—just where his feet had taken him.

_I am not that pliant, changeable_. _You seem to want me to change. I haven't. Not yet._

His eyes scaled the entire twenty-storey condominium tower in tacit search of something that he was not even certain could be found from its exterior.

_You tell me that I give too much of myself away. I don't quite agree, _Kurama smirked. _I am stingy, in a way. I deprive others of my trust._

There it was: on the eighth floor, three balconies from the left. The only balcony in the entire building that boasted of a trellis. Not to mention that it had—as he had heard just recently—no foliage at all.

_However, I can change. I have been betrayed before, but I am still capable of trust. I shall dispose of my defenses this one time. For now._

Tame, trained fingers ran through fierce, feral tresses. He held out his palm, revealing a prune-like green seed.

"_I believe in paying forward. Do you?"_

"_Un,_" Kurama murmured to the warm evening wind gently caressing his face. "One good deed begets another."

His eyelids closed, a smile playing on his lips. The seed on his outstretched hand vanished.

_You shall need that book no more._

**Continued**

Man, is Kurama secretive! And I think I made him too romantic in this chapter! But then again, he _is _the self-proclaimed "romantic soldier" of YYH…

As for all that botanical crap he knows, I myself don't know them at all. I guess that's the beauty of portraying intellectuals… Writing this fic sure is making me learn stuff all over the place! ^-^

Isn't it ironic that while Setsu-_chan _is revealing more about herself, she's also becoming more mysterious? Hm. What do you think?

And who is that blue-eyed blonde _bishounen _who won Kuwabara over? XD

**Japanese to English translations and abridged YYH glossary**

_**aa**_, _**o**_, and _**un**_. Slang for _yes_ and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
_**abunai**_. _Look out_ / Danger (lies ahead)  
_**ame**_. _Rain_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**anou**_, _**eh**_, and _**hn**_. Disfluencies of speech (much like the English _uh _and _um_), not limited to the Japanese language  
_**arigatou gozaimasu**__. Thank you very much  
_'_**ba**_. A contraction of _Oba _or _Obaa_, for addressing older ladies such as one's aunt or grandmother, respectively; used in this fic as a nickname for the name Aiba  
_**betsuni**_. _Nothing  
__**bishounen**_. _Beautiful young man  
_**-**_**chan**__. _An honorific used to address _girls_, _animals_, or anything that the speaker considers to be cute  
_**che**__. _A grunt or expression of disapproval, not limited to the Japanese language  
_**daigaku**_. _University / college  
__**dakara**__. So  
__**dooshita**_. _What's wrong / Is there a problem / Is something the matter  
__**doujinka**_. Creator of _doujinshi  
__**doujinshi**_. _Manga _created by fans of the original _manga  
__**gya**_. An onomatopoetic word for a _male_ shriek or scream  
_**hai**__. Yes  
__**heh**_. An expression of casual indifference (much like a shrug)  
_**hisashiburi**_. _Long time no see_, said informally  
_**iie **_and _**iiya**__. _Formal and informal _no_, respectively  
_**ja**_. _Bye  
__**jaganshi**_. Master of the _jagan _(third eye)  
_**jitsu wa**_. _Actually_; Kurama almost always uses this when he begins explaining  
'_**kaa-san**__. _A contraction of _Okaa-san_, a respectful address for one's own _mother  
__**kawaii. **__Cute  
__**Kazuma**_. _Peace _and _truth_, used as a name in this fic_  
__**ki**_. Refers to supernatural _power_; not limited to the YYH universe  
_**kitsune**_. _Fox  
__**koorime**__. Ice maiden_ or a member of the tribe of ice maidens in YYH  
_**kouhai**_. An _underclassman_ or subordinate; not used as an honorific like _sempai  
__**kowaii**_. _Scary  
_**-**_**kun**__. _An honorific used to address _boys_ or boyish girls  
_**Kuwabara**_. _Mulberry field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kya**_. An onomatopoetic word for a _female _shriek or scream  
_**manga**_. Japanese _comics_, such as YYH  
_**mangaka**__. _Creator of _manga  
__**mayonaka**__. Midnight_, used as a name in this fic  
_**mengo**__. _Not an actual Japanese word; Mayonaka Setsuki's version of _sorry  
__**midori**_. The color _green_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Minamino**__. Southern field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**mochiron**_. _Of course  
__**momo**_. _Peach  
__**nani**__. What / what is it  
__**na **_and_** ne**__. _An expression for seeking confirmation (much like the English tag questions _isn't it _or _okay_)  
_**ningen**__. Human / human being  
__**oi**__. _An expression similar to the English _hey_, not limited to the Japanese language  
_**okashii**_. _Strange  
__**okyaku**_. _Customer  
__**onna**_. _Woman  
__**Rei Ken**__. Spirit Sword_, the trusty weapon of Kuwabara Kazuma  
_**reiki**_. _Spirit(ual) power_, wielded by _ningen _(as opposed to _youki_)  
_**-sama**__. _An honorific used to address someone very respectfully, like _lord _or _master  
_**-**_**san**__. _An honorific used to address someone politely  
**-**_**sempai**__. _An honorific used to address an upperclassman  
_**-shihan**_. An honorific used to address a female master of a skill or art (such as martial arts) in a formal, archaic manner  
_**shimatta**_. _Shit  
__**Shinobi**_. An elite group of _ninja_; not limited to the YYH universe  
_**Shuuichi**__. Excellence first_, used as a name in this fic  
_**sou desu ne**_. _Yes_, _I agree _and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
_**sou ka**_. _That's right / I just remembered  
__**sugoi**_. _Amazing_  
**-**_**tachi**__. _A pluralizing suffix (much like the English -s and -es); to be used with discretion because Japanese words can be singular or plural even without it, depending on the context  
_**tantei**_. _Detective_; used in this fic to refer to the _Reikai Tantei _(Spirit Detectives) Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei  
_**tonikaku**_. _Anyway_, _in any case_, or other such words of transition  
'_**tou-san**__. _A contraction of _Otou-san_, a respectful address for one's own _father  
__**tsuki**__. Moon_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**urusai**_. _Shut up  
__**warii (kedo)**__. _An informal way of saying _warui_, meaning _bad_; used in this fic to mean _My bad / Sorry _(said informally)  
_**youkai**__. Demon  
__**youki**__. Demon(ic) power_, wielded by _youkai _(as opposed to _reiki_)

Again, if I missed anything that you need translating or explaining, just say so in the Reviews page. **Please review! Thank you so much!**


	3. The Urameshi Thermostat

Dedicated to my readers whose uplifting reviews motivated me to finish this new chapter: **krm3DeeDee**-_san_, **Meeka**_-san_, and **Reader in the Corner**_-san_. And oh yeah, **Lunalom**-_san_. (About that "wavelength" thing... Kuwabara said it. Apparently he confuses adjectives appropriate for length with those for height. XD) And, of course, my friend and former thesis partner who already knows all the answers to the questions that this fanfic poses: **MAZTERMIND**-_chan._

* * *

A ceramic bowl smashed straight into his face.

The fine china cleanly cracked in the middle before one of its halves slid from the ramen cook's left cheek and promptly dropped to the floor.

Yusuke peeled the other shard off a tightly clenched jaw. "_Teme!_ You're gonna pay for chucking china at your chef!"

"Really," scoffed the apparently dissatisfied customer. "Bad enough that I had to pay for the meal."

"You son of a—"

"Yusuke!"

A tender hand clapped onto the hot-headed _toushin_'s shoulder.

"Kurama!" The _mazoku_ slackened his tensed shoulders slightly upon catching sight of his fellow _ningen_-slash-_youkai_. "Am I glad to see _you_!"

"Ku…"

The two whirled to face the stranger who had finally caught earshot of the secret name of the secretive Minamino Shuuichi.

A vast, verdant meadow met eye to eye with a cloudless midday sky.

Kurama's eyes widened. "Ma—Mayonaka-_san_—"

"…rama…"

**3: The Urameshi Thermostat  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **Spring Onions in **_**Shoyu**_** Ramen**

"But why not? It's abandoned!"

One of the younger aides scowled defiantly, a reckless impatience written across his face and boiling his hot demon blood. Yomi was by far the most rebellious of the newcomers: launching into attack when Youko specifically ordered to hold fire, pouncing while Youko was still planning.

And scowling, always scowling, when he did not get his way.

But Youko Kurama was used to disapproval. Being the longtime leader of the most notorious and feared band of thieves in all of _Makai_ earned him more—much more—than insignificant frowns on grudging faces.

The bonfire at the heart of their base camp crackled with the howling winter wind, its roaring tongues of fire licking frostbitten toes and bodies wounded and worn from raids, robberies, and the inevitable duel to the death. Youko met the flames with his eyes, which mirrored the soft orange silently, almost eerily.

"Belittle not the seemingly 'abandoned' castle," The _kitsune_'s earthy baritone captured even the most inattentive of ears. "They are usually the most heavily guarded. A lesson learned through experience. Take it well."

The thieves hung their heads low, some to draw closer to the blazing bonfire, others in shame for entertaining the prospect of defying Youko's orders and pillaging the ancient dilapidated castle on their own.

The fox demon rose and addressed all his men. "I see the wait has made you restless. We raid tonight."

Excitement surged through the demons. Some stood and pumped their fists while others beamed and cheered. A satisfied smile spread through Yomi's lips.

"But Kuronue and I alone shall enter. The higher ranks shall stand watch by the gates and doors. Those of you with less than three hundred fortnights' experience, cover home base. We shall take ten minutes at longest."

All traces of thrill in the air faded. Amidst the sudden uproar, Kurama could feel poisonous, treacherous eyes boring through his entire body.

His second-in-command stepped in on his defense. "Men! Brothers! Comrades-in-arms! Youko has nothing but your best interests in mind. His orders are for your own good—your safety. A reliable source informed us that that old castle by the cliff is secretly inhabited by an Eternal," Kuronue cast a long look at their newest target in the distance. "The Eternals are invisible to the naked eye and capable of killing without having to touch or see their victims. Only Youko and I are experienced enough to break and enter into their territory and still get away with our lives."

Most of the demon thieves staggered in fear upon hearing the news. A particularly shaken one even exclaimed, "But why're we even botherin' to get anything from 'em? If they're jus' that deadly!"

_Hn_, Youko regarded the demon silently. _A lover of his own life, this one._ "A laughable query, but necessary. Eternals are spirits of time. One generation alone lives for millennia. Throughout their near-infinite lifetimes, they acquire countless material possessions: gemstones, rare artifacts, enchanted talismans, and more. Each of them owns an hourglass made of pure gold, called the _Toki no Suna_. Any merchant would buy it from us for a hundred—no, a thousand—times the price of all our heads."

He was all too aware that he had already won the money-hungry demons over. _Now, for those who covet power_.

"Need I mention that whoever has possession of it wields limitless power over time?" he added smugly.

At this point, the pack of thieves seemed to have forgotten about, or dismissed, the biting cold altogether. All of them looked forward to contributing to the successful ransacking of the old mansion, as lethal a mission as it may be.

Yomi, ever obstinate, still had one point of contention with the entire plan. "So the place is one big treasure chest! Won't we get the job done a lot faster if many of us loot it at once? It's not fair that only the two head honchos get a shot at the big stuff!"

Kurama had anticipated this argument from the very beginning. He looked Yomi squarely in the eye. "Yomi. Yomi, Yomi, Yomi," he scoffed. "Of what use shall your 'loot' be to you if their owner sensed your presence and caught you red-handed? You cannot take even the finest crystal with you to the afterlife."

The scowl returned to its usual place. Youko was taking Yomi's stealth and skill lightly—that much was obvious to all. The young demon harrumphed.

But Youko was one to think of everything. All possible scenarios, options, alternatives, escape routes, delegations of work, and—of course—outcomes. "_Minna_, stay on guard tonight. When Kuronue and I return, we split the spoils evenly. Even those on base shall get their fair share. Any more concerns, Yomi?"

That was what the rascal had wanted to hear all along. "_Che._"

"I didn't think so." A thin, arrogant smile curled Youko's lips. "You reap a bountiful harvest without sowing even so much as one seed. Such opportunities are the rarest of all. I would take full advantage of it, if I were you."

He turned his back on Yomi and the inexperienced thieves, and nodded to Kuronue and their accomplices for the mission on hand.

And in the blink of an eye, the thieves on duty vanished into the cold winter night.

* * *

One of the demons keeping watch by the doors of the castle cracked one eye open, shot a dazed look at the hazy white moon, and yawned loudly. His widely opened mouth attracted a fly, which he shooed away frantically as it attempted to nose-dive right into his throat.

"Damn! I'm starting to think that brat Yomi was right! I don't hear anything from inside this old dump—Youko and Kuronue could be dead by now! C'mon, let's infiltrate!"

The other thief was preoccupied with studying the ancient inscription engraved on the black wall next to the gargantuan castle gates. "I-I dunno. Something's real spooky 'bout all this. There could be booby traps in there…"

"Hmph!" The bored bandit dismissed his companion's suspicion by spitting to the ground. "If you're too chicken, suit yourself! I'm helping myself to a big, fat handful of rocks, if you know what I mean!"

The cocky thief-guard stepped into the aged metal doors. His comrade stretched his hand out to reach his back, to no avail.

"Wait!" The thief left behind froze in place. Just beyond the imposing doors—and right before his eyes—was a hollow void, an endless cavern of inescapable darkness. He shuddered and silently waited for any sign of his superiors.

He did not have to wait long.

A bloodcurdling yell ricocheted through every vestibule and chamber of the decrepit fortress. Winged dark creatures fled from its rooftops, gutters, and balconies in instinctive haste.

With a full-length mirror framed in silver and two jewel-encrusted boxes under the crook of his arm, Kuronue stopped in his tracks and gasped.

In another wing of the castle, Youko Kurama closed his eyes as his fox ears slightly twitched to the all too familiar sound of death. _O Foolishness, how many more bold men must you take away?_ He sighed lightly, almost inaudibly, and turned the doorknob.

An inconvenient darkness played with his senses. He found himself placing his full trust in his night vision and keen sensory awareness, sharpened by both nature—his being born a fox—and nurture—his collective experiences as a thief.

Kurama's acute animal eyesight adjusted to the dark instantly. He found a long, sweeping canopy of scarlet majestically draped over all sides of a four-poster bed. But no chairs, tables, drawers, closets, or other such furniture. At all. The rest of the room was debris. Ruins. Cinders. Vestiges of war. Of past theft and crime.

The bedroom most resembled a penitentiary, an asylum, with its only window of crisscrossed wrought-iron bars offering no means of physical escape. Only the blurred, clouded glow of the midnight moon penetrated through the unbreakable window and shed a thin, dusty sliver of light upon the dismal room.

Youko Kurama was perfectly aware that appearances—even of harmlessly bare bedrooms—could be deceiving. He weighed his options. _Have I nothing more to see here, nothing more to find? Shall I merely leave this potential treasure trove behind with not a stone unturned? But even the most barren of trees, when tended with a patient thumb, could—and do—bear the sweetest fruit…_

His claws bared and milky white fangs gleaming with the moonlight, the fox in human form softly padded and stealthily pounced across cold marble.

The icy winter wind breathed upon the light, delicate canopies of the bed. A slender ivory hand with sharp, thorn-like nails parted the splendid curtains gracefully.

Kurama held his breath. Glittering before his liquid, lustful eyes was the golden hourglass for which he and his most skilled and indispensable accomplices were risking their very lives. _The _Toki no Suna_!_

A seemingly human hand with canine claws ghosted closer. Closer. Closer. He could taste it in his jaws and mouth. Cold and metallic, like blood. A most mouthwatering taste. His loins ached with longing. He loved the sensation.

He loved it so much that he was reminded of why he chose the wayward life of a thief. The thrill was unspeakable.

Kurama's fingers remorselessly wrapped themselves around the hourglass on their own. His excited, taut knuckles unintentionally brushed against the intricately sewn bedspread. A gasp suddenly caught in his throat.

_The quilt—it's warm! The flushed heat of a living body!_

With a speed that not even the expertly trained _youkai _eye can follow, Kurama seized the valuable hourglass. But what he found in his hand was another hand—translucent, limp, and frail.

Pale porcelain fingers weakly curled open to reveal the object of Youko Kurama's desires clasped within. A ghastly scar ran the length of the Eternal's ashen palm. His or her wrist was a thin film of skin with a tangled web of veins beneath, but drained of color, a pulse, and life.

Then the long, large sleeve of a silk brocade with two lotus flowers stitched along its hem. _Eternals should be invisible to all… Why can I…?_

The robe bared a thin, bony collarbone. Youko's golden eyes blinked in anticipation.

* * *

Shuuichi's green eyes blinked in anticlimax.

_A dream_, he sighed.

Kurama closed his eyes once more in an attempt to induce the continuation of his most recent dream sequence. Lying stiff upon his own bed, with his arms folded behind his head, the warm winds of summer danced into his bedroom window.

He nestled his head deeper into the cradle formed by his arms, the back of his palms touching the soft, downy pillow beneath. _Why can't I remember that face?_

He sighed again, this time in frustration. The long red locks that served as his sideburns coolly wafted with the wind.

_Surely Eternals possess the power to freeze time,_ he told himself as his eyes rested on the ceiling. _Kuwabara should have neither seen nor spoken with an Eternal, let alone sense their_ ki _as_ youki_—they're not _youkai_. But he would be right about one thing: they are powerful. After all, they control the very fabric of time._

He unwound one arm from behind his head and cupped his chin. _Do the _Reikai _authorities send Eternals over to _Ningenkai _on official duty, as they do to Botan and other spirits they summon? Botan shows herself to _ningen _when the need arises…_

_But if the dog's rescuer truly was an Eternal, that still doesn't explain how he knew where the dog's owner lived, or that the dog even had an owner._

_So what could explain that?_

He glanced at his bedside clock. _Time to investigate. _

Minamino Shuuichi rose from his bed.

* * *

Mayonaka Setsuki rose from her bed.

"That tears it. I may not have finished studying yet, but studying has sure finished me."

She slipped one foot into a slipper and forgot the other. With back slouched and shoulders sagged, she plodded into the kitchen with an empty look and an even emptier stomach. "So much for feeding my mind. My tummy is getting jealous."

The starving student lifted the lid off a saucepan on the stove. "Oops. Forgot the pot holder," she knocked herself lightly on one of her temples. "Oh, well. Doesn't matter. Whatever is in this is long cold by now."

She peered inside the pot, only to make a face at her own reflection in the clear but oily broth. "Seriously, _Oyaji_. Not _goya _soup again."

The disappointed girl carelessly dropped the lid back onto the stainless steel cookware, her undivided attention on the trellis just beyond the sliding door leading to the balcony.

She pressed her hand onto cold glass, pushed the sliding door to the side, and bent over to pick up a fallen _goya_ leaf. "I still can't believe that you grew so well this fast," a serene smile played upon her lips as she casually twirled the leaf by its stalk. "And I didn't even have to consult any book."

Setsu eyed the trellis, long ringlets of _goya_ vines looped intricately along its whitewashed wooden lattices. Just as the most golden of flowers adorned the elegant vines, the ripest and plumpest of _goya_ gourds hung onto them, ready to drop if not picked in time.

"It's a good thing that _Oyaji_ couldn't help but like you when he already saw you growing," she chuckled to the now vine-filled trellis. "He didn't want to buy any medicines or medicinal supplements with your extract in them, even if he needs you for his diabetes."

A fond gleam in her eye, she left the fallen leaf to rest on a flower pot containing a bed of soil. "I won't bury you, _ne_?" she told the leaf. "I know that you'd want to do that on your own."

She took one step back to admire and pay her last respects to the crisp, nearly withered leaf. Back inside the condominium unit, the telephone rang.

Alarmed, she sprang towards the house phone, stepping on several _goya_ vines and leaves on her way.

"_Mengo,_" she called towards the balcony as she picked up the receiver.

"Kisetsu, were you talking to your miraculous _goya_ vines again?"

Setsu knocked herself on the head lightly. With her mind's eye, she could see Mayonaka Tsuzuku's suspicious, knowing eyebrow raised, even when he was behind his office desk a city away.

"Well, I accidentally stepped on them—"

"You're apologizing to plants. You must be _really_ hungry."

Setsu's facial expression contorted into one sour, awful mess. Her father knew her, and he knew her well. "So what time are you coming home?"

Of course her _Oyaji_ was very much accustomed to her transitions from one irrelevant subject matter to another. He had put up with it all her life. "Much later than I can promise. After those final examinations, you're entering college—meaning you're old enough to cook. So why don't you?"

Setsu sighed. They had been here and done this too many times before. "Busy. Lazy. Crappy cook. Hate own cooking. Never mind."

"You can tell me all the excuses in the world, Kisetsu, but I can't—"

"I know," the tone of the irresponsible daughter was glum, sorrowful. Pitiful, even. She was working him over to her side. Now, just a touch more remorse for the win. "You can't cook for me forever. Well, I really _will_ do that for myself when I'm staying at Kazuyu-'_ji-san_'s already. For the meantime… In the mood for ramen?"

"But I left you with soup—"

"Which I have been taking ever since we picked the first gourd of _goya_ that ripened in our own balcony," Setsu was frankly sick and tired of the bitter vegetable by now. "Besides, ramen has noodles in it, too. I need the starch, the carbohydrates, for my exam tomorrow. It's braaain fooooood."

"Speaking of which, have you studied?"

"Tomorrow's essay exam is History. I hate it. All history books were written by only the winners of everything. Our class textbook is no exception," Setsu twirled the curled telephone cord around with her pointer finger. "I'll write about what really happened out there. Not the success stories of the victors alone."

From the other end came a hopeless sigh. No threat, bribe, or plea could prompt a halfway decent answer from his unapologetically reluctant respondent. "As long as you pass."

"_Aa_." Her left hand still clutching the receiver, Setsu's right hand fished for loose change in her jeans pockets. "By the way, I would love to stay and chat, but soon enough you might not be able to hear me over my stomach growling…"

A creased forehead on the other end of the line sweat-dropped.

"Besides, the earlier that I leave, the earlier that I should also get home."

Mayonaka Tsuzuku did not even bother to argue with his daughter in times such as this. "Who will go with you?"

"The entire cast of my new _manga_," Setsu shot a glance at the pile of papers on the desk in her room. "Nami-_chan_ is grounded right now, so I shouldn't call her."

"What about that boy?"

Setsu bit her lower lip. _Oyaji_ had already known Hagiri Kaname for nearly a decade now, yet he still adamantly refused to refer to "that boy" by his name. "Knowing him, Kaname-_kun_ will foot the bill."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"That is because it _is_." Her lips straightened into one taut, thin line. "He should not dip into his pockets any more than he already has. He has no obligation to feed me. Or buy me anything at all."

"That boy," followed a disgruntled but markedly amused chuckle. "You get so serious, Kisetsu. I just wish you felt the same way about school."

"I'll be fine. I'll even take my history book with me. _Shoyu _ramen—my treat."

Soon, Setsu kicked the stand of her old and rusty mountain bike, swung a leg up, and pedaled away.

Her favorite restaurant was a modest, one-man ramen stand on the outskirts of the city. The establishment was merely a stall on two wheels, a human-drawn carriage of sorts. Everyday, its owner—a noticeably young man who was also its waiter, manager, treasurer, chef, and busboy—would pull his portable business like a cart to its usual location: a secluded little spot a few meters from the railroad tracks. Setsu frequented this humble ramen shop—she just loved the man's style of spicy _shoyu_ ramen.

It was a private hobby, these visits of hers. Every time she could, she would always, always just sit down in the ramen stall all by herself. Whether from a long school day at Meiou, from a tranquil day of being alone in the house, or from anywhere else, Setsuki found herself at ease and at peace in the eatery-on-wheels. She spoiled herself there.

The neighborhood was a most urban milieu, but it calmed her nonetheless. With pencil or pen in hand, she would immortalize it all on paper: the early evening trains that go by… the ramen deliciously steaming before her eyes and nose… perhaps even just a crude, rough sketch of that young ramen peddler. But knowing how "upfront" the guy was (even with his customers—no, especially with them), he might mistakenly believe that she was even just the slightest bit interested in him.

"But I'm not," Setsu grunted to herself, the chilly evening wind slapping her hard on the face. "If I would ever draw anyone for such a reason, it would only be K—" She cut herself short and took the slaps full on, rubicund cheeks warming up in spite of the cold.

As her ride became a smooth, steady coast, her attention momentarily lingered in front of the handlebar of her old bicycle. Her bike basket contained a stack of papers—some completely spent as pages of her new _manga_, others blank—bound together inside a sliding folder. She had also brought her new box of colored pencils and, as she had promised, her history textbook.

The bike ride was long. It always was. But the trip whetted her appetite even more. She was looking forward to that hot ramen.

She wheeled up to the shop and set one foot onto the asphalt to stop her bicycle. No other customers were there. All the better for her.

"_Irasshai!_" erupted a boisterous, enthusiastic greeting from behind the counter. The ramen seller must have recognized the squeak and creak of his regular customer's rusty, rickety bicycle—even from afar.

With a clean page and a box of pencils in her hands, Setsu brushed aside the thin Welcome cloths (customarily hung overhead in Japanese food stalls) without using either hand—she just strode right through. She comfortably plopped herself onto a stool. "_Shoyu _ramen, _onegai_."

The young cook had his back turned on her. He was so preoccupied with an adult magazine that the lids of the two boiling saucepots behind him were jumping from the heat. Yet he knew very well just what she came for. "_Aa! _One spicy and for dine-in, and the other one ordinary and to-go! Gotcha!"

"I love this place." Dimples shyly revealed themselves on the upturned corners of Setsu's lips. She stacked up six hundred yen's worth of coins—which she had already counted twice before she had left home—on the tabletop.

Amid cooking preparations, the ramen chef darted glances from the magazine centerfold to his loyal customer, then to the exact amount that she never failed to pay upon every visit. A cheeky but similarly satisfied grin was plastered on his face.

"And this place loves you too, Ma'am!" retorted the young man playfully.

Setsu pulled out several colored pencils from their cardboard box and laid them out neatly on the long wooden panel that would serve as her drawing as well as dining table. "How have you been, Urameshi-_san_?"

Urameshi Yusuke lifted the stainless steel lid off one pot and, with his trusty strainer, scooped noodles out of boiling water. He staged a performance of repeatedly tossing the heap of curly noodles up in the air and catching it with his strainer, showing off to his only spectator. "Damn bored outta my mind, as usual."

"Oh," Setsu's eyes were directed down at her paper rather than up at Urameshi. "What would catch and keep your interest, then?"

"A kick-ass martial arts tournament," Yusuke responded casually, as though it were the most natural answer in the world. Actually, it was—in _his_ world.

"_Hn._ Those are televised every so often," Setsu absently gnawed on the tip of a pencil, subconsciously staving off her hunger. "You could install a TV here. Local primetime _is_ known for its boredom-busting abilities, after all. And who knows, the flickers and crackles of a TV set might attract more customers."

With a perfected flick of the wrist, Yusuke flung the noodles up one last time, and then dumped the edible swirl onto a ceramic bowl. "Thanks for the thought. But I like 'em best with me in 'em, y' see."

"So you wouldn't mind a career change from peddling food to professional fighting, then?"

"Y' could say that." His back turned on her again, the cook responded over his shoulder. He poured a generous amount of soy sauce into the chicken stock. "Actually, I was already into it waaay before I got into this ramen thing!"

"Then why _did_ you 'get into this ramen thing'?"

"Simple as pie. I got fired."

Urameshi-_san_'s walnut eyes—both in shape and color, noted Setsu—were downcast… wistful. He must have loved his former profession more than he was letting on. It must have nourished him with a sense of purpose in life. His heart truly seemed to be into it—until now.

"Ah, what the heck!" Yusuke poured the clear brownish broth into the noodle bowl. "I wasn't getting paid for it anyway!"

His fists were at his sides. His brows wrinkled and his lips jutted out into a cross, cranky pout. Setsu noted to herself that Urameshi-_san_ would habitually, instinctively assume the role of a royally pissed, tough-as-nails badass in order to conceal, deal with, and dismiss his more… vulnerable… sentiments.

But his façade was flimsy, transparent. The punk still had a most natural, unpretentious air about him. This inherent charisma of his distinguished him, hailed him as a born leader.

In spite of all her inward silent psychologizing, on the surface Setsuki seemed to be concentrating her mental energies upon the noodle soup bowl across the counter. Her left hand frantically scrawled on her paper. "This may not change anything, but I just thought that you might want to know—at one point, I too devoted my entire life to something without ever getting paid for it, either."

"Huh?" blinked a clueless Yusuke. "What was it? Drawin' stuff?"

"I only wish it were."

The chef expertly minced a spring onion into thin, fine pieces, which he sprinkled into his customer's _shoyu_ ramen as garnish. "Aw, come on! Tell me, or I won't give ya your ramen!"

With one sweeping motion, his customer coolly scooped up the stack of coins on the tabletop into her hand. "Fine. I can always take my business someplace else."

"Fine! Take yer stupid money! The hell do I care!" Yusuke raised and shook his fist. "And don't even _think_ of comin' back—"

"By the way, how is your lovely landlady?"

"_Eeh?_" Yusuke staggered back, dumbstruck. Oh, yeah—that's right! Even with his current net income from ramen sales, he was still four thousand yen short of last month's rent! Not to mention his irresponsible bum of a mother even snuck off with yesterday's earnings to take a swig of that cool new whiskey label fresh off the liquor store…!

Yusuke needed Setsu's money. And worse, she knew it.

"You sneaky bitch," muttered Yusuke between gritted teeth, referring to both Urameshi Atsuko and his calculating, conniving customer. Grudgingly, he shoved the heaping bowl of ramen towards her. The greasy brown liquid swished to and fro in the deep bowl.

"_Itadaki_." Entirely ignoring Yusuke's attitude, Setsu peacefully took a sip of her noodle soup and blinked. "_Hn._ It's not spicy yet."

"Don't ya go changin' the topic on me!" The chef spat as he trickled chili oil into his customer's order, his head hotter than the chili. "Why don'tcha wanna tell me?"

In the face of a seething Yusuke, Setsu calmly stirred her now spicy _shoyu_ ramen with her soup spoon. "Can _you_ tell _me_ what _you_ used to do that you don't do anymore?"

"Sorry, Ma'am," Yusuke's smart-ass, thug-like manner of speaking did not suit the "Ma'am" at all. His passionate baritone leaked of sarcasm. "No can do."

"Then neither can I."

"Heck, it's not as if _your_ old job put your life on the line as much as _mine_ did!" grumbled Yusuke under his breath as he prepared the other _shoyu_ ramen that she ordered.

"With my old job, I _had_ no life."

Yusuke's eyes widened. How old was the annoying bitch, anyway? Wasn't she only in high school? So what "old job" could she have been yapping about? Was she some god-forsaken hooker or child porn star or something?

Before Urameshi could deliver another one of his snappy comebacks, Mayonaka put her spoon down. "We really should not fight, Urameshi-_san_. It isn't becoming of a chef and his customer."

"But I wasn't fight—"

Setsu raised a most authoritative eyebrow at him, almost as if to mean, "You were saying?"

Yusuke found himself shutting up against his will. "_Kuso_!" He buried his nose into his glossy centerfold.

Setsuki darted glances from her ramen to the piece of paper beside it. She picked light brown from the row of colored pencils neatly aligned on the table and began shading the paper with it.

She worked efficiently, alternately drawing with her left hand and eating with her right. From behind the magazine spread, Yusuke overheard both light and heavy pencil strokes on paper as well as the occasional sip of a mouth and soup-scooping of a spoon.

Whatever it was that she was drawing was more time-consuming to finish than the spicy _shoyu_ ramen was. Yusuke's _okyaku-san _momentarily abandoned her illustration to raise the ramen bowl to her lips with both hands. Yusuke sniggered to himself quietly as he watched his customer down the last of his ramen with gusto.

"_Gochiso._"

"Done already? I haven't even turned the page yet!" He was poking fun at the girl's hearty appetite and indicating to his notorious and disreputable reading material.

"You sure you're not just a slow reader?"

She did not even bother to look up from her drawing.

Spider veins popped out of Yusuke's temples. Gee, can't this chick take a joke? He leaned over the ramen stand counter to catch a sneak peek of that stupid piece of paper with which his customer had been engrossed for some time now.

With an exasperated sigh, Setsuki instantly flipped the sheet around so that only its blank back was visible to Yusuke. "I hope you don't mind. I _would_ appreciate some privacy."

"Privacy?" exclaimed Yusuke. "Y' watch me cook your ramen all the time! Gimme a break!"

"I don't want to have to say this, but that is because I pay you to cook it. Besides, you could always choose to work behind a screen, a makeshift wall, or some other sort of cover so that I wouldn't get to watch you cook."

"Y' mean I hafta _pay_ ya to see that piece of—"

"_Iie_," interrupted Setsu. "I wouldn't show it to you even if you paid me to. Especially now that you just insulted it."

"But I—"

"Did. In your mind, at least."

"_Che_!" spat Yusuke. There was no getting around this bitch! At that very moment, he just wished that Kurama would come and beat this smarty-pants stranger at her own game. If the witty _kitsune_ always got the deadly, razor-sharp-tongued Hiei to shut _his_ pothole, then this girl would be no exception.

He kept an eye on her. Good—she stayed put on that stool, entirely absorbed in coloring whatever that blasted picture was. He crept out of his ramen stand and stole into the night.

She was still at it when he reached her bicycle. An entire folder of papers lay in its basket. So what if she would let hell freeze over before he got to see that one itty-bitty piece of paper? She left plenty more on her bicycle—unguarded!

He made no sound at all.

Just as Yusuke successfully pinched away one sheet among the ream in the folder, a ceramic bowl smashed straight into his face.

The fine china cleanly cracked in the middle before one of its halves slid from the ramen cook's left cheek and promptly dropped to the floor.

Yusuke peeled the other shard off a tightly clenched jaw. "_Teme!_ You're gonna pay for chucking china at your chef!"

"Really," scoffed the apparently dissatisfied customer. "Bad enough that I had to pay for the meal."

"You son of a—"

"Yusuke!"

A tender hand clapped onto the hot-headed _toushin_'s shoulder.

"Kurama!" The _mazoku_ slackened his tensed shoulders slightly upon catching sight of his fellow _ningen_-slash-_youkai_. "Am I glad to see _you_!"

"Ku…"

The two whirled to face the stranger who had finally caught earshot of the secret name of the secretive Minamino Shuuichi.

A vast, verdant meadow met eye to eye with a cloudless midday sky.

Kurama's eyes widened. "Ma—Mayonaka-_san_—"

"…rama…"

"Uh-oh. My bad," Yusuke gulped, an uneasy, shameful guilt scribbled across his face. At least he _knew_ that he was never supposed to call Kurama by that very name before a total stranger… Wait a second—Mayonaka-_san_? What the f—? "So, I take it you guys have met before."

"Yes," Kurama smiled at him forgivingly. "We have."

"Only for a short time. Just like right now," Setsu jammed her hand into her jeans pocket to retrieve the colored pencils that she had crammed into it and dropped them back inside their box. "_Mengo_, Minamino-_sempai_. It would be best for me to leave now. Got an essay exam tomorrow. Need a full night's sleep."

She arranged a sliding folder, a box of colored pencils, a textbook, and the packaged _shoyu_ ramen for her _Oyaji_ in her basket, and hitched upon her bicycle.

_Minamino-_sempai_…_ Kurama repeated. _She had already heard my true name, yet—_

"That other name of yours," Setsu closed her eyes awhile. "That should be none of my business. A lesson that Urameshi has a long way to go before he learns."

"Aw, come ON—"

Setsu deprived Yusuke of any opening. "Before we part, Minamino-_sempai_, there's something you should know," the girl was the very epitome of serenity and contentment with the world despite her most recent squabble. "You seem to be Urameshi's thermostat. He's a lot calmer now, with you around."

She laughed to herself quietly and turned to Yusuke. "I dropped the '_san_,' _ne_? You will earn it again only when you finally practice professionalism with your customers. Congratulations, you ticking time bomb—your ramen was as steaming hot as your head. I just hope that your little stall wouldn't crash and burn as easily as you do."

And with that, her bicycle rattled away.

"Congratulations, ya privacy-lovin' psycho—y' completely lost me! I should'a made yer ramen insanely spicy when I had the chance!" Yusuke lunged towards the retreating figure, impulsively nearing himself to a confrontation as he always does.

The brash, explosive War God found a restraining hand before him. "Don't, Yusuke! She lives far from here, and you can't leave your shop for very long."

Yusuke glared off into the distance. For a while, his fists and arms were poised to hook a quick right, then a finishing uppercut. After struggling with his inner demons, he unclenched his jaws and sighed. "Fine. Much as I don't wanna back down from a fight, y' got a point. But how did'cha know 'bout 'er house?"

Kurama froze for a split second. Despite appearances—let alone his brazen behavior—Yusuke did have his wits about him. _It would be wiser not to tell him I once walked her home,_ Kurama decided inwardly. _Once he knows, I will never hear the end of it._ "Her bicycle," he pointed out. "If she lived close by, perhaps she would have just walked."

Yusuke seemed pleased with the explanation. "Could be. Come t' think of it, she _does_ always come 'ere ridin' that broken-down deathtrap."

_Always?_ "Does she frequent your ramen shop?"

"If I flew a plane, she'd have frequent flyer miles," wisecracked Yusuke. "Orders only _miso_ ramen on Mondays. Likes a helluva lotta spring onions in 'er ramen. And 'er _shoyu_'s always gotta be spicy. I run outta chili paste when _she_'s around! Always pays in coins, too!"

_Her house. Meiou. The local bookstore. Now Yusuke's ramen shop,_ enumerated Kurama mentally. _Her tracks are becoming easier and easier to trace._

"But I doubt she'll ever come back now."

"Tell me, Yusuke. What happened?"

"I just wanted t' see what she was drawing!" Yusuke hopelessly threw his hands up in the air. "But damn it, she just wouldn't cave! After all I've cooked for 'er!"

"If she really didn't want to show it to you, then why did she leave it with you?"

"_Nani_?" Yusuke shot a surprised look at his right hand. Between his pointer and thumb was the piece of paper that he had filched from the folder in her bicycle basket. "_Eeehhh!_ I didn't even notice!"

Creamy, gooey chocolate eyes nearly bore a hole through the thin sheet. In the blink of an (uninterested) eye, Yusuke tossed it aside. "What was _that_? Now _that_ was a waste of time and saliva if I ever knew one! She didn't hafta break a bowl for it!"

_Hn?_ Curious in spite of himself, Kurama saw no (immediate) harm in taking just one look at it as well. _She isn't here to throw any ramen bowls at my face_ _anyway…_

He chuckled to himself. He could not possibly fear a simple human high school girl! _But after that display… what aim. I would expect no less of Sniper's girlfriend._

He picked the paper up.

He held and beheld a black-and-white still-life portrait of lush, leafy _goya_ vines intricately weaved around the wooden lattices of a homemade trellis. Below the miniature painting were the words: "It looks like this now. I know that I did not grow this alone. Thank you. You can keep this."

_I will._ Kurama smiled to himself.

"Now _this_ is more like it!" exclaimed Yusuke from his own ramen stand. "But why'd she snap her cap over this? I jus' wanted one li'l peek at it!"

_She must have drawn something for him, too._ Kurama strode over to the counter and peered at the page atop it.

A heaping bowl of _shoyu _ramen in full color.

Kurama turned the page over. Its back read: "When I come back, I will draw you more of your ramen, so that you can hang all of these in a line and make them your menu for your other customers to look at and choose from. Thank you for the food."

_Still the same, that _ningen_._

He flipped the paper over again to admire the illustration. For a work completed using only oil-based colored pencils as medium, it was astoundingly realistic. But something about the picture seemed off. There was just something wrong.

_Oh. That's right_.

Kurama sat upon a stool and retrieved a green colored pencil from the breast pocket of his polo shirt.

"Shame. Kinda makes me sorry she's never comin' back," Yusuke confessed, more to himself than to Kurama. His eyes were closed, his nose upturned, and his arms crossed before his chest. He popped one eye open to glance at Kurama and saw the redhead violating the ramen drawing. "KURAMA! What _the hell_ are ya doin'?!"

"She wasn't able to finish this," the _kitsune_ pointed out calmly. "Look at the spring onions. She outlined them with a light green pencil, but didn't color them in."

"Lemme see that," Yusuke snatched the sheet from the table. "Everything looks true to life 'cept for the uncolored spring onions, all right. I must've been bugging 'er already when she was drawin' this part."

"_Iiya_," Kurama disagreed, his tone as certain as certainty itself. "She couldn't have finished this even if you left her be for all eternity."

"Newsflash, Kurama: You're gettin' all vague again."

Kurama held the green colored pencil up for Yusuke to see. "_This_ pencil matches the color of spring onions more accurately than any other shade of green she has."

"I don' get it," Yusuke cocked a confused eyebrow. "If that pencil was here anyway, why didn't she jus' use it?"

Kurama sighed. _Alas, the cat really insisted to be let out of the bag…_ "_Jitsu wa_, Yusuke… it wasn't."

"'Twasn't what?"

_Are you _intentionally _provoking me, Yusuke? _"Here. When she was."

"So why's it here now?"

_Either you are certainly on to me, or Hiei was right about how… maddening… you can be without even knowing it._

"Oh, _I_ get it!" The teenage boy's sudden toothy, mischievous grin filled in Kurama's blanks. "And _why_, Kurama, was one of 'er pencils with _you_?"

This was the very interrogation that Kurama was hoping would never transpire. _Work with me, Yusuke. We might have a case in our hands again._ "I know what you're thinking, Yusuke. But it's not that. She might not be who you think she is—"

"_I'll_ say!" Yusuke elbowed Kurama with a naughty wink. "She could be yer girlfriend and I didn't even know it!"

"No. That's precisely why I came to you, Yusuke—"

"I can't believe it! Kurama, the most romantic guy I know, came to _me_ for love advice!" A cheerful Urameshi clapped a hand on his good friend's back. "I always thought ya didn't need any help in that department, Kurama, but I'll help ya, buddy! I sure can help ya with the ladies a helluva lot better than Kuwabara can!"

Even Kurama's tried and true patience was wearing thin. "Yusuke, she could be the enemy! I came here to ask you if you've noticed anything strange or different happening lately."

"Other than you keepin' a girl's stuff now, nope. Not a thing."

"Yusuke! I'm serious!" Kurama frowned, not only from Yusuke's stubborn refusal to cooperate and take him seriously, but also from a nearby burning smell that irritated his _kitsune_ nose.

_Wait. Burning?_

Kurama sniffed the air to trace the source of the smell. The answer startled him. "Yusuke! Your ramen shop! It's on fire!"

"But I turned the gas tank and stove off…" a justifying Yusuke mumbled slowly as his eyes followed the direction to which Kurama's were pointing. They nearly popped out of their sockets. "HOLY SHIT, MY SHOP _IS_ ON FIRE!"

Ravenous, famished tongues of fire eagerly licked the left-hand underside of Urameshi Yusuke's peddling cart—the corner of the wooden stall farthest from the stove.

"_Kuso_! That bitch was _this_ mad at me?!" swore Yusuke between gnashed jaws and gritted teeth as he grabbed hold of a soup pot and sloshed its contents over the flames—pot lid, broth, and all. It was not enough.

"_I just hope that your little stall wouldn't crash and burn as easily as you do."_

Kurama scanned his surroundings, a bead of sweat trickling down one of his temples. _Is Yusuke not mistaken this time, Mayonaka-_san_? Are you responsible for this?_

_Are you really the enemy?_

**Continued**

So… the plot thickens. (After all, it's supposed to. XD)

Thank you, thank you, thank you for adding this little fanfic of mine to your Favorites and Alerts. But I appreciate REVIEWS a lot more—I love hearing from you. You could tell me which parts you liked. Which parts you hated. Any questions you might have. Any changes or recommendations you might want to suggest. Anything.

So please, REVIEW.

**Japanese to English translations and abridged YYH glossary**

_**aa**_. Slang for _yes_ and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
**-**_**chan**__. _An honorific used to address _girls_, _animals_, or anything that the speaker considers to be cute  
_**che**__._ A grunt or expression of disapproval, not limited to the Japanese language  
_**eh**_ and _**hn**_. Disfluencies of speech (much like the English _uh _and _um_), not limited to the Japanese language  
_**gochiso**_. A shortened and disrespectful manner of saying _gochisosama_, a traditional Japanese expression of gratitude customarily uttered _after_ meals (much like changing a prayer to _thanks for the grub_)  
_**heh**_. An expression of casual indifference (much like a shrug)  
_**iie **_and _**iiya**__. _Formal and informal _no_, respectively  
_**irasshai**_. Short for _irasshaimase_, a traditional Japanese expression of welcome customarily uttered as a guest or customer enters the establishment  
_**itadaki**_. A shortened and disrespectful manner of saying _itadakimasu_, a traditional Japanese expression of gratitude customarily uttered _before_ meals (much like changing a prayer to _thanks for the grub_)  
_**'ji-san**_. A contraction of _Oji-san_, a respectful address for one's own _uncle_  
_**jitsu wa**_. _Actually_; Kurama almost always uses this when he begins explaining  
_**ki**_. Refers to supernatural _power_; not limited to the YYH universe  
_**kisetsu**_. _Season_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kitsune**_. _Fox  
_**-**_**kun**__. _An honorific used to address _boys_ or boyish girls  
_**kuso**_. A swear word, roughly translated to _damn (it)  
__**Makai**_. _Demon World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**manga**_. Japanese _comics_, such as YYH  
_**mayonaka**__. Midnight_, used as a name in this fic  
_**mazoku**_. The lineage of _youkai _directly descended from Raizen, the _toushin _of _Makai _who starved himself to death for his beloved human woman  
_**mengo**__. _Not an actual Japanese word; Mayonaka Setsuki's version of _sorry  
__**Minamino**__. Southern field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**minna**_._ All / everyone  
__**miso**_. _Bean paste  
__**nani**__. What / what is it  
__**ne**__. _An expression for seeking confirmation (much like the English tag questions _isn't it _or _okay_)  
_**ningen**__. Human / human being  
__**Ningenkai**__. Human World_ (as opposed to the Demon World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**okyaku**_. _Customer  
__**onegai**__. Please_, less formal than _onegaishimasu  
__**oyaji**__. Old man_, used to address one's own father in this fic  
**ramen**. Japanese _noodles_, or a dish serving this  
_**Reikai**_. _Spirit World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Demon World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
**-**_**san**__. _An honorific used to address someone politely  
**-**_**sempai**__. _An honorific used to address an upperclassman  
_**shoyu**_** ramen**. A dish of noodle soup combining chicken (or vegetable) broth and soy sauce, optionally garnished with spring onions, fish cakes, and seaweed, among others; may or may not be served spicy  
_**Shuuichi**__. Excellence first_, used as a name in this fic  
_**teme**_. A very disrespectful and rude form of the word _you_, used only by males  
_**Toki no Suna**_. Sands of Time (_toki_ is _time_, and _suna_ is _sand_); used as the name of an object in this fic  
_**toushin**_. _War god_ (also translated to Japanese as _toshi kami_)  
_**Urameshi**_. _Bay rice_, used as a name in this fic  
_**youkai**__. Demon  
__**youki**__. Demon(ic) power_, wielded by _youkai _(as opposed to _reiki_)  
_**Yusuke**_. _Ghost helper_, used as a name in this fic

Yet again, if I missed anything that you need translating or explaining, just say so in the Reviews page. **Please review!**


	4. The Imaginative Nocturnal

**A/N  
**Just in case you were wondering: Yes, I _did_ intend to post this new chapter on New Year's Day… because I wanted to wish all of you a **HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

**Holiday Dedications  
**This fourth chapter is dedicated to **all** of the reviewers of this fanfic so far.  
(If you are not on this list, then you may choose to skip reading the following messages. But I suggest that you _do_ read them—after all, you just might have comments or concerns that I might have already responded to below. Either way… Happy reading! ^-^)

**Umo**-_san_: I just _loved_ your review of this fanfic. In fact, I am thankful that you were its first reviewer ever—I could not have asked for another. ^^ Actually, I wished that you were _not_ an anonymous reviewer, because your review was so wonderfully thorough and expressive that I wanted to PM you upon reading it. (Then I found out that I couldn't contact you at all. Sniff.)

You're right, Kurama _is_ quite hard to write. But I can safely confess to you that I am having a—for lack of a better word: smooth—time portraying him in this fanfic. At times I feel as though _he himself_ is thinking the very thoughts in this fic, and that my fingers are simply typing them all down upon his silent dictation. Writing him is a spontaneous thing to me. I dunno why. All that I can offer as explanation would be my obsession of him for twelve—nearly thirteen—years now. Feel free to call me the most pathetic Kurama fangirl alive. XD

You're right about something else, too. Mayonaka-_san_ _is_ quite a suspicious character. I give you two thumbs way up for noticing that she must have something up her sleeve. And in saying that she is "perceptive"… _you_ are even more perceptive. I love having readers-slash-reviewers like you—you inspire me. I hope to hear from you again!

**soren011**-_san_: Thank you for the encouragement! I am updating as soon as I can. ^-^

**MAZTERMIND**-_chan_: My real-life namesake, former thesis partner, and close friend from college… I am _so_ sorry for suddenly immersing you into the universe of _Yu Yu Hakusho_—and of Japanese animation per se!—like this. I hope that this fanfic isn't overwhelming you or something… ^-^; Until now, I still don't know which part of Chapter 1 reminded you of Stephenie Meyer's _Twilight_, but I assure you: any resemblance that I may have somehow depicted was _not_ of my intention at all. But you already know that, right? XD

**krm3DeeDee**-_san_: Were your questions rhetorical? Whether or not they were, I'll answer them anyway, okay? Let me see… "Tragic past"? Well, this fanfic _does_ have a back-story (so it _will_ involve several flashback scenes and sequences), but it is **not** at all the melodramatic and dark "tragic past" typical of some Mary Sue OC. (Sues really suck. XD) "Markings"? None in this fic that I know of—at all. Not even Yusuke's prominent demon markings will make an appearance in here. Just one scar on a wounded palm. O.o And "tears"? Very rarely shall they be shed. Only when called for and appropriate. XD

If I'm not mistaken, I have read one of your YYH fics before. It was about Kurama—as Youko—breaking someone's heart: an OC named Sakura. Am I right? ^-^; From that fic alone, I believe you're actually an _anti_-Kurama…! (I'm honestly wondering why you gave this Kurama fic a shot in the first place. XD) In any case, I would just _love_ it if you also check out another YYH fanfic of mine, entitled _**Stop Obsessing over Kurama!**_. (Yes, I plug shamelessly. XP) I have this crazy feeling that it suits your taste, and that you will like it even better than this one. Please read and review it too, okay? ^^

**Meeka**-_san_: Thank you for your generous praise! Just as I typed for **Umo**_-san_, I actually have a rather spontaneous time writing Kurama. But of course, I still have my doubts about my portrayal of him—I wouldn't want him OOC or anything—but your review somehow assured me that I must be doing something right all along. \^o^/ Thank you for that.

**Reader in the Corner**-_san_: Hmm… I _think_ I have encountered your reviews of other YYH fanfics in the past. You are quite the outspoken reviewer. So thank you for your commendation. It means much coming from you. ^.^

I myself did **not** expect to sprinkle Japanese words liberally in this fanfic. My intention in doing so is **not** to show off my Japanese vocabulary or something, but to encourage all of you to appreciate the Japanese version of YYH. For instance, I would like you to observe that the Kurama in the original Japanese dub has a habit of saying _jitsu wa_ (_actually_) right before he explains something. I (try to) feed your imaginations with a taste of the true culture of YYH canon by exposing you to their native language, their local food, et cetera.

You know, I find Kurama's thoughts "fun to follow," too. Since he's such a serious character on the surface, the comic relief comes from his mind. XD And yes, Mayonaka-_san_ _does_ have something to do with that mysterious puppy-rescuing scene. ^^ All will be explained in due time.

**MAZTERMIND**-_chan_, again: Thank you for reviewing a second time, partner in crime! XD Please tell me if I'm still abiding—or already straying—from the big-picture plot that I already narrated to you! But please don't spoil the story for my other readers…! I trust that you would keep the secrets of this fic until its very end!

**Lunalom**-_san_: "Nerd"? You're witty to me! X3 You're right about that blunder in Chapter 2: Kuwabara mentioned that he himself had a "high wavelength." Actually, I majored in Speech Communication in college, so I had to deal with vocal frequency and wavelength and all that stuff. And I do agree with you a hundred percent: Kuwabara—I mean, I—was grammatically wrong. ^-^ But hey, he's not the brains of the gang, anyway. Let's cut him some slack. XD

**WorldsAngel**-_san_: You know… I was choking in tears before I read your review. (I honestly dunno why I experience sudden sobbing spells these days.) But your review made me smile. ^^ Thank you for that.

Well, I would not go so far as to say that this is "epic" or anything… But I appreciate your compliment of such proportions. ^-^ I also enjoy writing this from Kurama-_kun_'s point of view. He is such an intellectual that I find myself learning a lot from him. XD I hope that this new chapter will not disappoint you… Chapter 4 is more of a conclusion to the events of Chapter 3 than a separate chapter in itself, you see. I gave it my best shot. Please tell me what you think of it!

**rain chant**-_san_: I wish I were "hooked" on to this fanfic too, considering that I lose my motivation often. But mine is a different strain of disease: I don't actually experience writer's block—I just get way ahead of myself. For instance, this may just be Chapter 4, but for some time now my fingers have been itching to type Chapter 11 already. I want to jump and jumble chapters…!

Just as I typed for **Reader in the Corner**-_san_, I sprinkled Japanese words in this fic liberally so that all of you would get to appreciate the actual culture of the characters of YYH. I would like you to somehow imagine them speaking in their native language—not just to portray them as in-character as possible, but also to expose you to the original Japanese dub. FUNimation of the U.S. may have portrayed them as amazingly witty characters, but nothing beats the original script of the show. ^^

**Athena'sOracle**-_san_: Your staring at the pop-up Review window for nearly five minutes… Is that a good thing? ^-^;;

I must agree with you: Mayonaka-_san_ really _is_ "quirky." (But you know, I prefer "quirky" over an annoyingly, unrealistically perfect Mary Sue!) And the plot so far isn't that "thick" yet. The madness has yet to soar to new heights. X3 Oh, you are excused. You didn't offend me in any way. ^^

**justme**-_san_: To be perfectly honest with you, I am wondering why you reviewed only Chapter 1 and then typed "hope you continue" when in fact, this fanfic was already in its _third_ chapter when you reviewed it. Didn't you see the drop-down window leading to Chapters 2 and 3? O.o

Anyway, there is a reason as to why Mayonaka-_san_ seems to be, as you yourself said, "a little too know-it-all" for her own good. Once all of you readers find out her secret, you will finally understand why it seems as though she knows Kurama better than we think she does. It's a part of the mystery of this fic. She has a secret that I cannot reveal to any of you just yet. You wouldn't want me to ruin the whole fic for you now, would you? ^-^

**Dance Of Flame**-_san_: Thank you! But this fanfic still has a long, winding way to go. ^-^ Please continue reading this to its end, then!

**Micah Rapp Cullen**-_san_: When I read your username, Edward and Bella frolicked in my mind. XD (But my favorite _Twilight_ Saga character of all is Alice.) Love your avatar, by the way. ^-^ And thank you for commenting on my characterization! I wanted to portray the gang as in-character as possible so, as I just typed for **Meeka**-_san_, it's nice to know that I must be doing something right. ^^

**yellow worm**-_chan_: Wow. I never knew that you thought of my writing style that way. =o) I'm happy that someone noticed my efforts to distinguish characters from each other through their respective lines of thinking. I'm even happier that it was you, my good friend. ^-^

Oh, but I don't think Kurama's "mentality" is "mundane" at all. I _love_ the cogwheels of his mind. ^^ As for Setsu-_chan_'s thoughts... Only you could consider them "ethereally mystifying," you know. (Shhh. XD Let's not portray her as a Mary Sue. She's not. I hope.)

**MAZTERMIND**-_chan_, for the third time: When will you review Chapter 3? Come on, you're taking too long! **yellow worm**-_chan_—yes, she _is_ who you think she is!—already beat you to it! And as you can read right now, Chapter 4 is already up! So hop to it, friendship! XD I'm waiting… ^^

**yellow worm**-_chan_, again: Kurama's dream in Chapter 3—coughitwasaflashbackcough. But you already know that—you know this entire fanfic from its humblest beginnings to its loosest ends…! XD Not a word about Mayonaka-_san_'s secret, okay? I beg of you! And I wish you a HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY!

**Lunalom**-_san_, again: Here's another note by your name. XD Yes, we _will_ have more of that "past-dream-time thing." It's essential to the mystery. ^^ Yusuke and Kurama's misunderstanding? That was my favorite dialogue in this fic so far. (I love teasing Kurama. ^-^;)

About his eyesight… I don't read animal trivia stuff like Setsu-_chan_ does. XD I just assumed that Youko Kurama had keener night vision than, say, other foxes and other demons—considering that he is both. ^^ And mantis shrimp! Oh, their eyes! ^o^ So random. You remind me of Setsu-_chan_ herself! XD (Well, that's a good thing to me. XD)

And without further ado…  
**HAVE A BLESSED, MEMORABLE, AND MEANINGFUL 2010~!**

* * *

**4: The Imaginative Nocturnal  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **Open Bedroom Window**

"HOLY SHIT, MY SHOP _IS_ ON FIRE!"

Ravenous, famished tongues of fire eagerly licked the left-hand underside of Urameshi Yusuke's peddling cart—the corner of the wooden stall farthest from the stove.

"_Kuso_! That bitch was _this_ mad at me?!" swore Yusuke between gnashed jaws and gritted teeth as he grabbed hold of a soup pot and sloshed its contents over the flames—pot lid, broth, and all. It was not enough.

"_I just hope that your little stall wouldn't crash and burn as easily as you do."_

Kurama scanned his surroundings, a bead of sweat trickling down one of his temples. _Is Yusuke not mistaken this time, Mayonaka-_san_? Are you responsible for this?_

_Are you really the enemy?_

His inspecting eyes set their sights on the small drawer in which Yusuke ordinarily stashed his earnings from cooking and selling ramen. The drawer was open.

And empty.

_No. This is a real arson!_

"Yusuke, you might not want to point and wag your finger so hastily—"

"But _you_ jus' said she could be the enemy!" A frantic Yusuke hurriedly slipped his own T-shirt off his back and smacked the flames with the fabric. "And now you're defendin' the li'l—"

"Examine her motives. Do you honestly think she would take your earnings from you, too?"

"Whaddya mean—?!"

"A _true_ arsonist did this, Yusuke. He got away with your money!"

"_NANIIIII_?!?! That son of a bitch!" groaned Yusuke in the middle of alternate soup-sloshing and shirt-smacking. "I worked my ass off a whole _month_ for that moolah! He's gonna pay—in more ways than one!"

"I'll get you water or an extinguisher," volunteered Kurama, his legs distancing him from the ramen stand as fast as they could carry him and as much as his demon-enhanced human adrenaline would allow.

"Bring me that bastard to kill too, okay? Thanks a lot!"

Kurama's mind raced alongside his body. _The arsonist must have perpetrated this while we weren't looking. Perhaps just a few minutes ago—the flames are not that high yet. So he couldn't have gotten that far… unless he had an escape vehicle—_

He turned the corner and bit back a gasp.

Standing erect before his eyes was a life-size sculpture of a man.

Kurama approached the breathtakingly lifelike statue with painstaking caution, as if treading barefoot upon a bed of broken glass. His jaws gnashed and teeth gritted, he circled the motionless figure—a ferocious, fanged fox closing in on its cornered prey.

And true enough—his prey was wide-eyed in fear. Dark, stony orbs twinkled in a most realistic portrayal of thunderstruck terror.

A sudden realization froze Kurama.

_This isn't a statue!_

It was a living man. Paralyzed. Petrified. The filthy black cloth over his head served as his face mask. The mask was damp, soaked in some oily liquid.

_Lubricant for the fire? But why did he pour it on himself?_

He carefully turned the man's trench coat pockets inside out. Its contents dropped onto the pavement: several crumpled yen bills… loose change… and Yusuke's trusty lighter. _He must have used this to set the shop alight_. A frown crossed Kurama's face. _Taking your ill-gotten spoils as your own is one thing. But to take advantage of those very spoils to sabotage their owner is another! Deplorable scoundrel. A disgrace to thieves everywhere._

Suddenly, something else caught Kurama's eye: a colorfully inked stack of papers rolled up in one of the motionless man's hands.

Yusuke's adult magazine. Kurama sighed.

_There is no question about it: this man is indeed the culprit. But why is he—_

The soles of his shoes came into (sticky) contact with a wet, slimy mess. His eyes darted down and widened.

Scattered and squished flat amidst a dark, greasy pool on the ground was a soggy swirl of curly flour noodles… thin, fine slices of carrots and leeks… strips of white chicken meat… a torn plastic bag…

An order of ramen, packaged for taking home.

_That _would_ explain his drenched mask_, Kurama sweat-dropped to himself.

Then, instantly recalling the gravity of the situation at hand, a dangerously serious and unsmiling Kurama turned a full 360 degrees, scanning his immediate surroundings for any detectable trace of the customer who had ordered the noodle soup that had now apparently gone to waste.

_You again_, he winced. _Are you everywhere? Do you always know what's going on? Do you freeze time to save mankind, one incident at a time? If this is really of your doing, then why can I not sense any _ki _from you? Who are—_

"Yo, fox-boy!"

The _kitsune-otoko_'s soliloquy suddenly entered an unexpected interlude when a recklessly racing ramen vendor nearly careened into him.

The now shirtless younger _ningen_-slash-_youkai_'s well-chiseled, muscle-bound chest rose and fell as he caught his breath. "Well, the fire's out. So who's _this_ sorry excuse for a _ningen_?"

"That bastard you wanted."

"I see. Do me a favor, Kurama, and get me that fire extinguisher." Yusuke cracked all of his knuckles, one by hard one.

Kurama blinked. "But I thought you had already put the fire out…"

"Yeah," Yusuke stretched his neck from side to side, warming up for his upcoming workout. Kurama could see the tension and temper further hardening the _toushin_'s already bulging neck muscles. "But it'll still come in handy when I'm puttin' _this guy _out!"

* * *

The man would have cried out to high heaven. If only he could.

But given the circumstances, he could not.

He had to be strong. Unshakable.

Remorselessly stubborn.

Just like she was.

"Kisetsu, you said you will treat me to _shoyu_ ramen tonight." A man in his late forties with salt-and-pepper hair receding at the hairline frowned, further creasing his already deeply wrinkled forehead lines. "So, was I wrong to expect the ramen to arrive home with you?"

His elbows on their dining table, the man of the Mayonaka household parted his fingers and pressed their tips together to form a steeple.

Setsu's _Oyaji_ had been restlessly sitting—not to mention waiting for his only daughter and his ramen—in their dining room since he arrived home. "Not only did you break your promise to me; you came home even later than I did! What do you have to say for yourself?"

The misbehaved daughter did not meet his eyes. She could not. "_Gomen_," she murmured softly, almost inaudibly. "_Gomen nasai_."

"'Sorry' means you will never do what you just did again. But you do it again, Kisetsu! Again and again!"

Stress as well as distress took turns straining the father's already swollen, and even worsening, throat.

"One day, you come home with your hair all cut. You didn't even tell me you were planning to have it cut in the first place! You wouldn't even tell me where you had it cut, or at least who cut it!"

Setsu closed her eyes. Her arms and hands hung limply at her sides.

"Then you ask me to allow you to come home later than usual for you to buy some book. But when you come home, you don't have it with you! To top _that_ off, you had spent what little money you had on something else! But you wouldn't even tell me what it was!"

A heated retort nearly escaped her lips. But it did not. She did not let it.

"And now, you promised me ramen. And you don't have it, either! You tell me you bought it, but you spilled it on your way here! And you have the _gall_ to stand up to me when I tell you that was so irresponsible of you!"

Her fingers twitched, threatening to ball up into tight fists. But they did not. She did not let them.

The ordinarily outspoken yet still somehow secretive daughter remained silent. After all, silence occasionally denoted remorse—whether it was genuine or not.

Mayonaka Tsuzuku sighed. "You never listen to me."

_Chigau_, Setsu forced a gulp back down her throat. _If only you knew, _Oyaji_, that I am always listening…_

"In one ear and right out the other."

… _Even when you are nowhere near me._

"You always want to have the last word. From whom did you learn that? That boy—"

"Leave Kaname-_kun_ out of this," Setsu's eyelids snapped open, revealing cold, glassy orbs of ice. "_Onegai_. If you have a problem with _me_, deal with _me_."

The physically and emotionally exhausted father rose from his dining chair and wearily inched towards the refrigerator. "Why are you changing, Kisetsu?"

"I'm not the only one changing in this house," Setsu stepped forward and yanked the refrigerator door open. She pulled out the fruit and vegetable crisper for her father to peer inside it. "You used to encourage me to leave the house by myself. Now I can't even go to my favorite ramen shop without you becoming all overprotective. Why are _you _changing, then?"

Tsuzuku rummaged through the crisper for prospective ingredients for his improvised supper. "_I_ am because _you_ are. Since that time you had your hair cut, you don't tell me anything anymore."

_Even if I did tell you, you will not believe me, anyway. _

"You don't trust me anymore?"

"How do you expect me to answer such a question? Whether I say yes or no, you could always take my response the wrong way. To you, it would either be a 'Yes, I don't trust you' or a 'No, I _really_ don't trust you'."

"When you don't want to tell me something, you really don't, huh?"

"Another question that—however answered—will merely be taken against me."

The man sighed. "You're even harder to talk to now than ever before. Just what is your problem?"

_Do you really want to know?_ A silent scream spilled from Setsu's eyes. _Here's your answer, _Oyaji.

_Kurama._

_He is still alive._

* * *

"DIE, YA FUCKIN' SONNUVA BITCH!"

Roaring at the top of his lungs, Yusuke landed a jaw-breaking punch squarely on the defenseless arsonist's already black-and-blue chin. "_This_ is for tryin' to burn my business down!"

The numb, lifeless figure plummeted headfirst onto the stony pavement.

"And I'm jus' gettin' started!" The demon god of war rained down blow after otherworldly blow upon his unresponsive opponent. "_This_ is for wastin' my newly cooked soup! _This_ is for tearin' my shirt! _This_ is for usin' my lighter! And _THIS_ is for whatever the hell y' were thinkin' of doin' with my porn!"

The older _ningen_-slash-_youkai_ simply stood still, his arms folded across his chest. Kurama knew all too well just when to leave Yusuke and his wrath of godly proportions alone.

He was not even watching them. His eyes were out of focus… distant.

"_Minamino—the name written ever so lovingly in countless teenage diaries, I presume. But what is your _real _name?"_

_You have now heard it for yourself._

"_Ku…"_

_Sou. That's it._

"…_rama…"_

Suddenly a raging white heat throbbed from within him, shooting through his veins, frothing in his mouth, clotting through his skin.

_Nani???_

Kurama's right arm trembled before his very eyes. His left hand instantly gripped his right wrist to hold it still.

But the tremors were beyond struggle… resistance… the sheer will to fight. In the blink of an eye, his left arm befell its inevitable fate and shook violently, uncontrollably, as well.

Then a blinding headache swallowed him alive. Though invisible, the pain was all too real, threatening to cleave his human brain apart with a force so impossibly great that it would be his end.

His vision was dimming. The world was closing in on him. Slowly. Prolonging his agony. Yawning before him was a vast, endless cavern of black. A bleak, black universe of nothing.

_Masaka!_ Kurama breathed in short, broken gasps. _Have I gone blind???_

He took one painstaking, painful step forward, piercing through the dark that was all his eyes could see.

"_Kurama…"_

"KURAMA!"

A hysterical shriek from reality stabbed through the eternal void. The sinister, poorly lit alleyway on the outskirts of the City of Yukimi reluctantly blurred back into focus.

_I can see again…!_

He raised his hand to level with his face and gazed upon the long, crisscrossing lines of his palm.

_Ittai… Nani ga…? What just happened?_

"KURAMA!" burst a follow-up yell. Yusuke was alarmed—no, blown right out of his mind.

"YOU'RE IN YER FOX FORM AGAIN!"

* * *

Why?

He did not know.

Locking the door right before going to bed was second nature to her. She always scowled at the mere thought of an intruder creeping ever closer as she slept, blissfully unaware and vulnerable.

So why?

Why did the knob turn all the way around?

She had parted her curtains and left her window open. The evening wind escorted summer into her bedroom and swayed the soft, pastel blue canopies—light, almost weightless.

Mayonaka Tsuzuku glanced at a lump on the bed tightly bundled within a cotton blanket, curled into a fetal position. Short strands of disheveled brown hair strayed from underneath.

She must be sound asleep by now.

His lips adamantly resisting the urge to smile, the father distraught and depleted of all energies shut the door behind him.

The gentle, wispy evening breeze suddenly howled. The drapes of blue flailed violently, repeatedly striking a desk cluttered with schoolbooks and notebooks left open. Creased, crisp pages flipped and flicked in perfect synchrony, like decks of playing cards shuffled all at once. The blanketed lump on the bed rolled and tumbled to the floor.

The blanket rolled further across the floor, unfolding into its true shape and form. Soon, the fully sprawled sheet also revealed its true secret.

No one was there.

* * *

_Nani???_

Kurama gasped.

He drew his hand away from his face and confirmed Yusuke's revelation with his own eyes—his human hand now had sharp, pointed canine claws.

"How'd ya do that?!" cried an insanely curious Yusuke.

"I didn't," murmured Kurama, sharing Yusuke's sentiments exactly, if not experiencing them tenfold. _But my voice… I am still Minamino Shuuichi._ "This must be a shift in my biorhythms. This is exactly what happened to me during my fight with Shigure in the _Makai_ Tournament."

_Minus the searing, blinding pain, though._

"You all right, Kurama?"

Still slightly reeling from his sudden devastating sensations, Kurama managed to give Yusuke a weak smile. "_Aa_. I am no stranger to metamorphosis, Yusuke. This is no cause for alarm."

_However, since that fight, I vowed never to turn into Youko again… So why—_

"Y' sure 'bout that? Y' kinda look a li'l knocked up!"

Kurama gave himself a once-over. He remained dressed in the collared, button-down polo shirt and cargo pants of his _ningen_ form, but flowing gracefully all the way to his waist were the long silver locks of his _youkai_ form.

And just one glance into Yusuke's clear, round brown eyes sufficed to assure Kurama that his own were not green in color any longer.

"I could bring ya to some E.R. around 'ere…" Yusuke volunteered to prop Kurama's arm around his own shoulders and neck so that he could at least half-carry the _kitsune_ to the nearest hospital.

_He means well,_ Kurama smiled to himself. _But indeed, at times he could be such a fool._ "Yusuke, I think neither medical nor veterinary practitioner could possibly examine me in my current state and be able to resist asking any highly 'personal' questions."

Yusuke's eyes grew as wide as saucers. Again Kurama verified that his own eyes, glittering as a reflection of the crescent moon, were now pure gold.

"Aw, damn it! I didn't think of that!" Yusuke laughed his ass off the face of the planet, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. "Now that y' mention it, I dunno whether to take ya to a doctor-doctor or to a vet!"

Kurama chuckled to himself as well. _Always the comedian, Yusuke._

Laughter truly was the best medicine… whether one was a _ningen_, a _youkai_, or a unity of both. The _kitsune_'s spells of pain were no more.

"I appreciate your concern, Yusuke, but you really should be taking care of another, more important _business_ right now."

Yusuke gasped. "My ramen shop!"

Like his spiritual counterpart phoenix—Puu—with its talons bared, Yusuke swooped down upon the ground and picked up the bills and coins scattered on the pavement. He stuffed his once stolen earnings into his side jeans pockets, and he and Kurama strode back to whatever remained of his razed ramen stall.

Yusuke was eerily silent for a while, his arms crossed before his shirtless chest. Then he suddenly piped up. "Kurama, can y' go home like that?"

"No, of course not," the older, fused demon-human shot the younger human-demon hybrid a sheepish look. _I must keep in mind that whatever may be as plain as day to me may not be so for him…_ "I must think of a way to turn back—"

"Yeah, about that," mumbled the younger boy. "Y' don't have to. You're back t' normal!"

"_Nani?_"

And true enough, his nails were those of a human once again. The locks that served as his sideburns, so long that they ended midway down his chest, were blood red.

_How did_ this_ happen???_

"Gee, _that_ was convenient!" hooted Yusuke. "Were ya jus' pullin' a fast one on me, Kurama? What's goin' on?"

Kurama sighed. "I wish I knew myself."

* * *

"_Sheesh. Such an ignoramus, this man."_

And indeed, he was utterly oblivious of the unseen presence lurking before their very eyes.

"_He doesn't even notice when he's not wanted!_"

"Would there be anything else, Mukuro-_sama_?"

"No, Kirin."

The devoted aide remained genuflected before his great lord and master. His thickset, muscular build seemed unsightly—pathetic—posed in such a lowly, humble stance. The heavily armored warrior was powerless, emasculated under the cold, compassionless command of the tyrant looking down upon him from the comfort of her royal lounge bed.

Yet, in spite of this wretched state of affairs, Kirin never took his eyes off the rocky ground. The opportunity alone to behold his Lord Mukuro in the privacy and intimacy of her hallowed sleeping chamber already nourished his unspoken, broken hopes. He needed not look her in the eye and desecrate the sanctity of her lordship any more than he already had.

"What are you waiting for, you fool? Get back on patrol!"

"As my lord desires."

And so the loyal knave, still on bended knee, teleported himself away.

"_Finally! For a while there, I was already under the impression that he'd never leave!"_

"Hmph." A deep displeasure distorting the remains of her acid-corroded face, Mukuro lay back upon her thickly cushioned white bed. "What a coincidence. I feel the same way about you."

She cast a sidelong glare to her right. About three inches from her arm was a slight depression, a sunken area on her cushion.

A light-hearted chuckle rang in the air.

"_That_'s your version of a decent welcome?" murmured an airy, barely audible voice.

The demon crossed her arms before her chest. "Only those with the common courtesy to call ahead of time are remotely deserving of _your_ concept of a 'decent welcome.' But even then, I can't make any promises."

"I _would_ have called," scoffed the mysterious voice clouding the dark, dismal room. "If only _somebody_ actually had a phone in here."

The joke was hopelessly lost on Mukuro. "State your business."

"Hey, I'm not some door-to-door salesman out to rip you off in your own home!" The lumps and bumps on Mukuro's bed shifted. An invisible weight seemed to be fidgeting upon it. "But that butler of yours," the anonymous speaker's voice mellowed down. "He confuses knavery with slavery. He'd eagerly pluck his own eye out if you so much as breathe a word of it."

Mukuro closed her eyes. They were of no use to her at the moment, anyway. "Did you come all the way here just to find fault in my men?"

Suddenly the stale, toxic _Makai_ wind laughed along with the voice.

"Ooh. 'Your men.' You sure you're not _that_ kind of girl?" Mockery and sarcasm trickled from the otherwise indefinable tone. "But sooo many of them…! Has Hiei-_chibi_ gotten _that_ memo yet?"

"You are a waste of time."

"Aw, don't be sore with me, Mu-ku-ro-_sa-ma_." The imaginary burden on Mukuro's bed lightened. "I mean you neither ill nor harm, really."

"Since when did you call me that?" snapped the hot-blooded _youkai_.

"Muku-_chan_, you're always so angry." A faint, weightless touch gently cupped Mukuro's cheek. The ever-defiant demon bared her tightly clenched teeth. "You want me to disappear. How unreasonable of you—you can't even see me."

"If you don't spit out just what it is you want from me in three—"

"But will you grant me three wishes, O great genie?" chuckled the stranger irreverently… fearlessly… foolishly. "Three minutes of your attention span, then, concentrated on me. Must I pay dearly for that?"

"You are neglecting your duties."

"My duties are to myself alone."

"You're not a very good liar, _tokime_."

"No. I am so good a liar, you can't even tell when I'm lying well. Wait—did that even make sense?"

The _tokime_ was testing Mukuro's threshold of tolerance. The dreadfully deadly demon was already raising her hand to slash through the air when she felt a sudden subtle movement coming from the string around her neck.

And true enough—the _hiruiseki_ jewel dangling from the flimsy thread was floating in mid-air. "Ah. I see you're wearing _his_ necklace. So sweet. Both of you must beware of ants soon!" Then gravity acted upon the gem again—it had been let go. "So, which base are you in now?"

"Base?"

"Don't play dumb with me, space-slicer!" The voice was neither male nor female, yet somehow both. It was monotonous yet melodious, malicious yet mild, wicked yet wise.

"_Heh_," Mukuro closed her eyes again and smirked. "He comes to me for rest and reprieve. Nothing more."

"Yeah, and you expect me to believe that crap, huh?" The invisible speaker harrumphed. "Why am I even wasting my breath on you? I'll just take a sneak peek of the 'action' this bed of yours witnessed last night, and—"

Suddenly Mukuro's hand shot a thin, razor-sharp sliver of crimson light towards the white bed. Then she fired three more beams, thoroughly hacking her own sleeping place into eight equal slices.

"Hey! What did you do _that_ for? _Now_ where will you sleep tonight?" exclaimed her companion. The invisible entity sighed. "You know, not a dull moment goes by with _you_ around, Muku-_chan_. I always gotta be on my tippy toes."

Her brow still furrowed deeply, Mukuro watched on in silence as the ruins of her wrecked bed suddenly rose into the air and pieced back on their own, a thin ray of white light binding their edges together.

"You're welcome," chimed the unseen upholsterer sarcastically, sighing in exasperation. "You know, it's a good thing I'm as restorative as you are destructive, otherwise no one in these parts can possibly undo your little 'slips of the temper'."

"Now tell me your true purpose, _tokime_, unless you want to befall the same fate."

"I came here to bid you farewell." The restored bed then glowed in the grim, gruesome dark of Mukuro's private quarters. The disfigured demon shielded her better eye from the blinding light. "You shall see no more of me, Muku-_chan_."

The light eventually faded. "You have found him."

"I can't tell who found whom." A pool of transparent, colorless hair suddenly materialized before Mukuro, comfortably nestled upon her bed. "But either way… I won't make the same mistake again."

"You took your time."

"Yeah, well…" The swirl of hair rose from the bed. Mukuro's wildest imagination could somehow make out a long, sweeping robe. And a flash of red.

"… The best in life are always worth the wait."

And Mukuro could sense no more _ki_.

* * *

Kurama could sense no _ki_, either.

He sat precariously upon his windowsill, one leg propped up on the ledge and the other planted on the carpeted floor of his bedroom. He leaned back upon the window frame, the thin concrete scaffolding pressing upon his back and spine.

Wispy, noctilucent clouds smoothly sailed through the starless night sky. A tacit, tranquil Kurama basked in the light of the midnight moon.

_This has neither _reiki_ nor_ youki… Frustrated eyes frowned at the vine painting in his hand. _Are you truly just an ordinary _ningen_? Were all those signs pointing to you merely meant to mislead?_

_True, _Reikai_ is not alerting us about you. But that might be because Koenma had already dismissed us._

_What if some new _Reikai Tantei_ recruits are after you, and you always manage to escape them? What should I do?_

From the corner of his eye, the trees in the Minamino garden rustled and swayed with the evening wind. Kurama eyed the sturdiest branch of the tree across his window.

A fire demon was especially fond of that branch.

_When will he return to _Ningenkai_?_

* * *

Hiei was home. And he made himself comfortable.

He sank into a ghastly chair, propped his feet up on a matching ghastly table, crossed them together, and folded his arms before his chest.

He closed his eyes and sniffed the foul air. "Hmph. You just invited a friend over. And he reeks of weakness."

"Friend? Have you been training your sense of humor too, Hiei? Don't make me laugh."

Hiei's eyes suddenly snapped open. With a kinetic speed of his caliber and his alone, he rose from the chair, drew his sword from its sheath, and threw it towards Mukuro herself.

The chair toppled backwards as his sword instantly stabbed through Mukuro's bed, merely inches from her face.

Mukuro did not even flinch. "You cannot kill a _tokime_ that way, Hiei."

"I never trust word of mouth," retorted the fire demon, his pride stabbed as well. "When I want to know something, I find out for myself."

"It's gone now," Mukuro dislodged the sword from her cushioned bed and tossed the weapon back to its owner. "The _tokime_ with neither face nor name."

"I don't care for faces or names." A grudging Hiei caught his blade and slotted it back inside its sheath. "A trespasser pays with his life."

"_It's sweet, Muku-_chan, _how he strives to protect you._" A sexless, ageless voice dreamily murmured from nowhere. "_And from _me_, too!_"

Hiei poised to strike again. "Show yourself, coward!"

"_You want to see me? Get glasses!_" A gentle yet unfettered laughter shook the entire chamber. "_Boy, for someone with three eyes, your eyesight sure leaves much to be desired!_"

"_Kisama!_" spat Hiei.

"Calm down, Hiei. It toys with your consciousness and distorts your reality," Mukuro's lips curled into a fearsome, chilling display, which the _jaganshi_ recognized as her amused smile. "Did it convince you that it was still here? You should have known better than that."

Hiei grunted to himself.

"If the _tokime_ were a true threat, I would have slain it with my own hand long ago."

"Hmph. You're getting soft, Mukuro."

"Strong words for someone who just spared the life of a little _ningen_ girl with goo-goo eyes while patrolling this morning."

"Hmph!" repeated a dangerously provoked Hiei. "Do you wish to die?"

"She reminded you of Yukina."

Hiei fell silent. His eyes—restless tempests reminiscent of the countless bloodbaths that they have seen and lived through—dropped their guard.

"Hiei, have you no desire to leave my side?"

"She is safe now. She gives the fool a purpose for his sword."

Mukuro chuckled condescendingly. She had never met that worthless _ningen_, but she knew all too well that she needed not do so to share Hiei's view of him.

But that Kuwabara was out of the question right now. It was another male _ningen_ who was of any significance at all to Hiei—whether the stoic _jaganshi_ would ever admit it or not.

"_She_ may be out of harm's way, Hiei. But could you say the same for _him_?"

Mukuro detected a change in Hiei's eyes. They were more alert now. Perhaps… troubled.

"Whoever you speak of has nothing to do with me."

"Your lies must work better on yourself than they do on me."

Hiei detected a change in Mukuro's voice. It was gentler now. Perhaps… comforting.

"As I told you before, I'd make certain no one would come looking for you."

"What makes you so sure I won't stay?"

"What makes you so sure you wouldn't run off to _Ningenkai_ the moment I turn my back on you?"

Hiei lunged one step forward. "Since when did _he_ need protection?"

Mukuro remained motionless. "Were _you_ able to take the _tokime_'s life?"

Was that a gasp that caught in the supposedly heartless, apathetic _jaganshi_'s throat?

Mukuro buried herself deeper into her bed and closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, she was alone.

* * *

But Kurama was not.

He neither saw nor heard an ethereal, otherworldly creature gliding into his open window.

The ghost perched beside him on his windowsill and awkwardly smoothed out its long, billowing robe pooling around its feet.

"I can't believe it," murmured the nameless entity, breathless and speechless. "It's really you."

_Someone else is here!_ A bead of sweat trickled down Kurama's brow. Swinging his leg down from the window ledge and planting both feet on the carpeted floor, he snapped, "Who's there?"

The apparition sighed, standing up as well. "Unfortunately, I am forbidden from telling you. You must find out on your own."

"Your _ki_ betrayed you," Kurama's eyes darted left and right, trying to determine the exact location of the enemy. His hand fumbled into his hair, preparing to retrieve his trusty rose. "And I assure you, I need not see you to attack you."

"Don't attack me. I just wanted to…"

Suddenly Kurama felt a soft, gentle warmth touching his throat.

_This heat again!_ He gasped, green orbs widened. _Am I about to turn into—_

"No. I was careless. I won't let that happen again."

The invisible, inaudible being stared at Kurama's neck, then blinked. "And no matter how other people remember you, you _do_ have an Adam's apple, huh?" The ghost laughed to itself. "Well, duh! You _are_ male, after all. What was I thinking?"

_An ambush in my own home in the middle of the night,_ Kurama frowned. _He plans to involve my family. If I make a suspicious sound while fighting him, they will awaken and find out about me. But if I fail to defeat him post-haste, they might get caught in the crossfire._

_The simpler the strategy, the more successful it turns out to be._

"But I have no such intention at all! What an active imagination you've got! And such a nocturnal—so alert even at midnight. Why, look at your friend there, drooling like a baby all over your tree!"

And without even so much as one surprise attack, the enemy fled through the open bedroom window.

_His _ki_ is moving…_ Kurama gasped._ He's getting away!_

His hunting eyes chased their invisible prey past the window. They stopped upon sighting a familiar black cloak draped over its usual tree branch.

_Hiei!_

The _jaganshi_ did not move a muscle. His arms were folded behind his head, his legs crossed, and his eyes closed.

_He's sleeping! He didn't sense the intruder at all!_

Kurama winced and clenched his fists.

_I will find you._

_And I will find out who you are._

**Continued**

Did you notice that Kurama and Setsu's encounters were becoming shorter and shorter from Chapters 1 to 3, and then they didn't even see or talk to each other _at all_ in this chapter?

Well, I did. (I _did_ write this… XD)

So if that's the case, then what kind of a Kurama x OC fanfic is this, right? Well… It all turned out this way for a reason, I promise. We'll all see in Chapter 5. ^-^

**Japanese to English translations and abridged YYH glossary**

_**aa**_ and_** sou**_. _Y__es_, and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
**-**_**chan**__. _An honorific used to address _girls_, _animals_, or anything that the speaker considers to be cute  
_**chibi**_. _Small / little _(in size)  
_**chigau**_. _You are wrong_  
_**eh**_ and _**hn**_. Disfluencies of speech (much like the English _uh _and _um_), not limited to the Japanese language  
_**gomen**_. _Sorry_, less formal than _gomen nasai_  
_**heh**_. An expression of casual indifference (much like a shrug)  
_**Hiei**_. _Flying shadow_, used as a name in this fic  
_**hiruiseki**_. _Tear gem_, a precious jewel formed from one tear that a _koorime_ sheds; the _koorime_ shed one tear for each child they bear  
_**ittai**_. _How / what in the world_ (not to be confused with _itai_, an interjection expressing pain, much like the English _ouch_ or _that hurt_)  
_**jaganshi**_. Master of the _jagan _(third eye)  
_**jitsu wa**_. _Actually_; Kurama almost always uses this when he begins explaining  
_**Kaname**_. _Strength_, used as a name in this fic  
_**ki**_. Refers to supernatural _power_; not limited to the YYH universe  
_**Kirin**_. _Giraffe_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kisama**__. _A very disrespectful and rude form of the word _you_, used only by males (While Yusuke and Kuwabara use _teme_, Hiei and a fuming Kurama use _kisama_)  
_**kisetsu**_. _Season_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kitsune**_. _Fox  
__**Koenma**_. _Little Enma / child of Enma  
__**koorime**__. Ice maiden_ or a member of the tribe of ice maidens in YYH_  
_**-**_**kun**__. _An honorific used to address _boys_ or boyish girls  
**_kuso_**. A swear word, roughly translated to _damn (it)_  
_**Kuwabara**_. _Mulberry field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Makai**_. _Demon World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**masaka**__. No way / impossible_  
_**mayonaka**__. Midnight_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Minamino**__. Southern field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Mukuro**_. _Corpse_, used as a name in this fic  
_**nani**__. What / what is it  
__**nani ga**_. _What the_; its meaning changes depending on the context in which it is used_  
__**ningen**__. Human / human being  
__**Ningenkai**__. Human World_ (as opposed to the Demon World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**onegai**__. Please_, less formal than _onegaishimasu  
__**otoko**_. _Man  
__**oyaji**__. Old man_, used to address one's own father in this fic  
**ramen**. Japanese _noodles_, or a dish serving this  
_**Reikai**_. _Spirit World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Demon World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**Reikai Tantei**_. _Spirit detective  
__**reiki**_. _Spirit(ual) power_, wielded by _ningen _(as opposed to _youki_)  
_**-sama**__. _An honorific used to address someone very respectfully, like _lord _or _master_  
**-**_**san**__. _An honorific used to address someone politely  
**-**_**sempai**__. _An honorific used to address an upperclassman  
_**shoyu**_** ramen**. A dish of noodle soup combining chicken (or vegetable) broth and soy sauce, optionally garnished with spring onions, fish cakes, and seaweed, among others; may or may not be served spicy  
_**Shuuichi**__. Excellence first_, used as a name in this fic  
_**tokime**_. The author prefers not to disclose the meaning of this particular vocabulary word for the sole purpose of preserving the mystery of this fanfic. The reader-reviewer is encouraged to deduce its definition from context clues, dropped hints, and translations of related words from previous chapters. ^-^  
_**toushin**_. _War god_ (also translated to Japanese as _toshi kami_)  
_**tsuzuku**__._ _Continuation_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Urameshi**_. _Bay rice_, used as a name in this fic  
_**youkai**__. Demon  
__**youki**__. Demon(ic) power_, wielded by _youkai _(as opposed to _reiki_)  
_**Yusuke**_. _Ghost helper_, used as a name in this fic

Yet again, if I missed anything that you need translating or explaining, just say so in the Reviews page. **Please review! I'll dedicate the next chapter to you! (I really do that!)**


	5. The Best Big Brother in the Human World

**A/N  
**See? I _actually_ updated within a week~! \^o^/

**Please note: The Japanese always cite their last names **_**before**_** their first.  
**Since the characters of this fanfic are Japanese (even those from the Demon and Spirit Worlds, who really shouldn't have any nationality to speak of XD), **I used the Japanese name order throughout this entire fic**. For instance, Mayonaka Setsuki's first name is Setsuki. You may have noticed that Kurama calls her "Mayonaka-_san_," though. That's because they aren't on "first name basis" yet. Is this clear? I hope it is. ^-^  
On with the show!

* * *

This new chapter is dedicated to my most recent reader-reviewers: **krm3DeeDee**-_san_, **3**_-san_, **Dance Of Flame**_-san_, **Athena'sOracle**-_san_, and **animegirl2961**-_san_—whom I actually imagined was reading this fanfic on a small-screen iTouch while in bed. (And just to refine my mental image… Were you lying on your back or on your stomach? XD)

**5: The Best Big Brother in the Human World  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **White Fox Plushie**

"_OH, NO!"_

_Frantic, desperate hands ransacked an already disorganized desk drawer._

_She took one step back just as he yanked the drawer off its hinges and out of the desk altogether. With no thought or hesitation, he turned it upside down, its contents promptly spilling to the floor._

"_What are you looking for?"_

"_It was—it was right here!" He sank to his knees and picked up his scattered school supplies one by one, only to eye each of them disappointedly and eventually fling them behind him. "But now I can't find it anymore!"_

"_I could help you look for it, if only you would tell me what it is…"_

_A curtain of hair hiding his eyes from her view, the boy shook his head. He fitted the wooden compartment back into its rightful place and pushed it inside the hollow gap of his writing desk. "_Gomen._"_

_The girl crouched down and gathered the writing instruments, rulers, and pad papers strewn across his bedroom. "Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything wrong…"_

_His face was wrapped in guilt. "But I did. _Gomen nasai!"

_So was hers. "I wish you would tell me what's wrong…"_

* * *

"It was supposed…" moaned Shuuichi, distress crumpling his face as well as the blanket that he gripped in his sleep. "…to be yours…"

"Shuuichi."

A strong yet gentle hand grasped his shoulder.

"Shuuichi," Kurama cooed again, his mellow alto slightly louder this time.

Broken cries escaped Hatanaka Shuuichi's lips as his eyelids fluttered open. Behind the film of dust in his eyes was a black necktie against a collared, button-down polo shirt.

"_Ittai… Nani…_" Sleep still blurring his vision, Shuuichi blinked several times. His speech was nothing but a string of slow slurs. "_'Nii-san_…"

"You were talking in your sleep." Green eyes welled with concern. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"No… I don't think it was…" Shuuichi the Younger tossed his blanket aside and sat upright on his bed. "I didn't like it, but it wasn't scary… '_Nii-san_?"

"_Aa_?" Shuuichi the Elder opened a nearby clothes closet and peered inside it.

With his pointer and thumb, the younger brother rubbed the corners of his eyes beside the bridge of his nose. "Remind me again of who '_Kaa-san_ said will stay with us for the summer."

"She didn't say." The older stepbrother fished a hanger out of the closet. Folded and hung upon it was a pair of royal blue pants and a matching polo coat—Shuuichi's school uniform. "But our guest may arrive anytime soon. You might want to tidy your room beforehand."

"Yeah, yeah," the younger stepbrother dismissed the urgency of the matter with a wave of the hand. "Don't rush me, '_Nii-san_. It's summer! I've got _plenty_ of time to kill!"

"Not today."

Warm concern suddenly became cold command. The hanger and its contents landed on the disheveled blanket curled up by the boy's feet. "Get dressed. Don't be late to class."

A cataclysmic realization devastated Shuuichi. Dead eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, the summer school student gasped as his uniform plopped onto his bed. "_Sou ka!_"

Kurama closed his stepbrother's bedroom door behind him just as the boy yelled, "I HAVE SUMMER SCHOOL!" The plywood walls of the Minamino home could only do so much to muffle the ghastly wail of terror.

The elder stepbrother sighed. _He may not have awakened _from_ a nightmare, but he certainly awakened _to _one._

* * *

"_What are you still doing there?" An excited eye peeped from past the open door. He waved his hands to catch her attention. "Let's play!" _

"_Coming."_

Just a few finishing touches left, _she assured both him and herself. She reached for a mahogany-colored felt-tipped pen among an entire rainbow neatly lined together on the desk and shaded the nearly accomplished page of her coloring book._

_But the boy was not fond of waiting. A hand flailed from behind the door. "_Osoi_! Come on! Let's go!"_

"_I'll just pop the caps back onto my markers. Their ink might dry up with prolonged exposure to—"_

"_You're taking too long!"_

_Sighing to herself, the girl carelessly wrenched the desk drawer open. She scooped up the uncapped ink pens, dropped them inside the drawer all at once, and slammed the storage compartment shut. Inside, the colored markers rolled back and forth from the impact._

_As the two challenged each other's visual acuity and hand-eye coordination in a shooting videogame, the pens bled. Pools and pools of clashing color soaked the drawer and its contents._

_An inky black pen stained its absorbent tail. The darkest brown clotted into its cotton leg._

_Whoever cared for that little white fox would soon find that it had somehow camouflaged itself for the summer._

* * *

_Mengo… itoko… How do I break it to you…?_

"Setsu-_chan_!"

She wound an arm and a leg around the long pillow at her side and turned her entire body towards it. She mumbled pure incoherence, speaking to it in some exotic bed language.

_How do I tell you that I…_

"SETSU-_CHAN_!"

She snuggled closer to the pillow, burying her cheek in the soft, cottony surface. "H…"

"Hagiri-_kun_?" The other girl in Mayonaka Setsuki's bedroom blinked once, twice. A giant brain wave suddenly washed over her. She snapped her fingers.

"SETSU-_CHAN_, HAGIRI-_KUN_ IS DOWNSTAIRS!"

"_Hn_?" All of a sudden, an adrenaline-charged arm seized a bedside clock. "But he isn't supposed to be here until—" From behind a heavy eyelid, a misty blue eye shot a dazed glance at the timepiece. "Oh."

"Wake up, Setsu-_chan_! Today is a busy, busy day!"

"I _am_ awake," retorted the most irritable, irritating life form in the entire condominium building, official as of that very moment. "What you mean to tell me is '_get_ up'."

Still all smiles in spite of the dark, menacing aura oozing from beside her, Akasaki Minaku tilted her head to the side and giggled. "_Ohayou gozaimasu_, Setsu-_chan_!"

"Mm," was all that the cranky best friend managed to respond. The fresh graduate of Meiou Private High School pulled herself out of bed painstakingly, almost painfully.

Just as she had slipped one foot into a slipper, a playful pair of elfin hands pinned her shoulders down upon the bed.

"_HN?"_ A wide-eyed Setsu caught herself sprawled flat on her back. "Nami-_chan_, is this for all those times when I told you not to say the word _up_ in 'wake up' simply because there's no such action as to 'wake down' anyway?"

A rosy-cheeked Nami giggled even more. "No, I just thought you look like a boy with that hair."

"And therefore you felt the urge to push me onto a bed."

"_Un_!"

"There's something perverted about that," a cynical Setsu shook her head. "And how many times have we been through this?" She ran a casual, carefree hand through a tangled maze of brown. "It's short now. Let's both get over it."

Nami's "Okay" was a musical, heartbreaking sigh.

Setsu sighed as well. Her legs swung down the bed a second time. "What are you doing here, by the way?"

"I'm your human alarm clock!" cried a delightful, delighted girl who tackled an even taller girl and shoved her back into bed, football player-style. "Wakey-wakey!"

"Really? Last I checked, both human and mechanical alarm clocks force their owners _out_ of bed, not back _in_ it."

"I'm different!" chimed the bubbly Meiou graduate, her eyes perpetually closed from nonstop smiling. "When you get up on the wrong side of the bed, I force you back in!"

"Is _that_ what this is about?" blinked Setsu. _So she just wants me to welcome the morning with a better mood._ Reading Nami both literally and between the lines, Setsu rolled over to her other bedside, planted both feet on the floor, and faced her best friend with a small, shy smile.

"_Ohayou, _Nami-_chan_."

"_KYA!_" shrieked the bouncy young girl. "Setsu-_chan_, you're really cute when you smile like that!"

"Uh…" Setsu rarely found herself speechless. But this time, she could not even find her sanity, much less the power of speech. "If you say so…"

"Kisetsu must be up and about by now… since Minaku is now trying to wake the neighbors."

Standing right past the doorway was Setsu's _Oyaji_ in an apron, holding a mixing bowl and an egg beater on either hand.

"_Hai, Otou-san,_ your very cute daughter is awake now!"

Setsu massaged her temples. If she herself did not call her own father _Otou-san_, then why did Nami?

"Could two 'very cute' girls run to the convenience store for me? I'm short a few ingredients for breakfast."

"I'll go, I'll go!" An energetic hand skyrocketed to the air. Then another energetic hand raised a limp, reluctant one. "And so will Setsu-_chan_! Two very cute girls—at your service, _Otou-san_!"

Setsu's gaze fell. _Well, I_ might_ miss them…_

She looked up, only to face two spooky, evil grins creeping her out on either side of her.

_Or not._

* * *

"_I'll have it with me the next time we see each other. _Kanarazu_!"_

A charred piece of buttered toast between his teeth, Shuuichi sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him.

"'_Nii-than_!" he exclaimed to a retreating figure in a cream-colored coat and slacks. He spat the toast onto his free hand. "_'Nii-san_! Buy me a white fox plushie!"

Kurama whirled to face his _otouto_, curiosity written on his face. "A white fox…?" he repeated slowly. _Impossible. He can't know of—_

"_Aa,_ a white fox plushie," repeated Shuuichi, a bitten, burnt slice of bread on one hand and half a glass of milk on the other. "Pretty please? Summer school ends real late. I might get home even later than you."

Kurama nodded. "_Wakatta._ Any other specifications aside from white in color?"

_What could his need for it possibly be?_

Shuuichi's eyes darted up, as they habitually did when he was jogging his mind. "No. Just that. It doesn't have to be big. I just… need one."

"By what time today?"

"Whenever you arrive home. No rush," Kurama's full cooperation stretched his stepbrother's face into a wide, toothy grin. "Thanks, '_Nii-san_! You're the best big brother in the world!"

As the boy turned on his heels and reentered the house, Kurama turned the key and opened the car door. _Ah, but there are _other_ worlds, _otouto_._

A middle-aged couple headed towards him. Her dark hair pulled back in a low ponytail, Minamino Shiori planted a soft, light kiss onto the cheek of the businessman on his mobile phone, who managed to catch it with his lips even in the middle of a conference call.

_Now that is multitasking_, Kurama chuckled to himself.

"_Anata_," cooed Shiori gently to her husband, then turned to face her son. "Shuuichi. _Ki o tsukete_."

Kurama smiled at his mother warmly. "You too, _'Kaa-san_."

Minamino Shuuichi stepped into the driver's seat of the four-door Toyota and unlocked the back door for his preoccupied stepfather. He shifted the gear to neutral, stepped on the clutch, and shot a glance at the rearview mirror.

And there she was, as she always was.

Clasping a hand to her heart, the Shiori in the rearview mirror simply stood several steps behind the car, saying nothing, yet still so much.

_Don't do this to yourself, _'Kaa-san._ It pains you to see us go. Look away._

He followed his own advice and tore his eyes from the woman in the mirror. A suddenly expressionless Kurama turned the key and stepped on the gas. A firm, steady hand hovering over the shivering gear stick, he set it to first gear and clenched the wheel with both hands.

_See you tonight._

* * *

"Why is _Oyaji_ preparing a smorgasbord?" Setsu mumbled absently, more to herself than to Nami. "There are only three of us."

"And I don't even live in your house!" joined Nami with a giggle, bobbing her head to the beat of a pop tune presently out of Setsu's earshot. "It must be a farewell party for you, Setsu-_chan_!"

Hazel eyes twinkled, brimming with life. Shimmering, silken ebony hair cascaded until the cheery girl's waist and bounced as she walked. Nami always had a spring in her step.

So Setsu always felt the need to walk on the dangerous side of the pedestrian lane, just to hinder the lively, happy-go-lucky girl from skipping too far into the busy street.

"Nami," Setsu seized her best friend by her shirt sleeve. The pedestrian stoplight before them had just turned red. "Look where you're going, _onegai_."

"But there are no cars passing by!"

"Still." A slight frown complemented Setsu's serious tone. "Presence of mind, Nami."

"Okay." A resigned Nami plucked out her earphones from both ears and stashed her music player into her shoulder bag. "You know what, Setsu-_chan_?"

Setsu transferred the grocery bag from her right hand to her left. Her left was the stronger weightlifter anyway. "Not yet, because you haven't told me. _Nani_?"

"You can just tell me you don't want a car to run over me."

Setsu blinked. "What are you—"

"Awww," cooed Nami teasingly. A wide, cheeky smile closed her eyes. "You really do care!"

Setsu grunted to herself and looked away. "I didn't say anything like that at all."

_I must not._

* * *

"_Hai_. Hatanaka speaking."

Kurama shot another glance towards the rearview mirror, this time to check on his stepfather still talking on the mobile phone. Apparently, the person on the other end had changed.

"Please rest assured that we will look into this matter immediately," Hatanaka Kazuyu nodded into the phone. "We do our best to ensure customer satisfaction."

A silent Kurama smoothly steered the car left.

Standing at the corner of the intersection was a familiar short-haired brunette. She was carrying a grocery bag on one hand and clutching the sleeve of a shorter girl with the other.

_The car tint of this make and model is dark_. _We can't be seen from the outside._

"_H-Hai, _Sugihara-_san_. We will address your concern accordingly."

_Sugihara_-san? _He signed his contract through me,_ Kurama recalled. _Any transaction involving him will inevitably go through me as well._

Through the mirror, curious green eyes met tense, troubled ones.

_What's wrong?_

* * *

"_Ara_." The receiver in one hand and a feather duster in the other, Shiori clapped a hand onto her cheek, pressing the handle of the cleaning instrument closer to her face in the process. "So it's today."

Shuuichi was shutting his bedroom door behind him when the woman in the apron caught his eye and ear.

"No, not at all," the mother of the Minamino-Hatanaka family assured the person on the other line. "What time, then? I might be alone in the house… Kazuyu-_sama_ and Shuuichi have gone to work, and Shuuichi-_kun_ has summer school…"

The eavesdropping Shuuichi gasped. "_'Nii-san_ was right!" He turned the knob leading to his bedroom and slammed the door behind him. "I'd better clean up this mess!"

Shiori put down the phone just as a heavy collision shook the second floor.

"Shuuichi," the concerned woman called out as she picked up an almost empty glass. Spilled milk left a circular stain on the exact spot on the dining table where the glass used to lie. "Are you finished drinking your milk?"

The morning wind carried a muffled yell from upstairs. "_Haaaaai!_"

Shiori wiped the white stain off the polished hardwood table with a cleaning rag. She took the glass and the cleaning cloth to the kitchen and washed them in the sink.

She was wringing the cloth dry when thunderous footsteps boomed down the stairs.

Shuuichi bolted to the front door, calling out to his stepmother. "Gotta go, '_Kaa-san_! I'm late for class! Sorry I couldn't finish cleaning my room!"

"Shuuichi-_kun_," she was about to inform him of the specks of dust and dirt in his hair and on his face, but it was too late. The boy had already left.

Shiori laughed to herself quietly. "Everyone is in such a hurry today."

With a placid smile and a tranquil grace all her own, Shiori ascended the stairs and turned the knob of the first door to her right.

Shiori blinked at the wild, savage stretch of jungle that yawned before her very eyes. By the sheer look—not to mention smell—of the primitive expanse that no one in his or her right mind would call a human bedroom, Shuuichi's caveat was the epitome of an understatement. What exactly did he mean by not _finishing_? Did he even _start_? Who knows what breed or strain of ghastly monsters spawn in this doomed, damned habitat?

"_Ara_," the mild-mannered mother sighed to herself, still smiling in spite of the repulsive, impossible task that lay in her future. "It looks like our guest will have to sleep in Shuuichi's room for the meantime."

The _sanitary_ Shuuichi's room.

* * *

"_Gochiso_," said Setsu quietly, her eyes closed. She neatly aligned her chopsticks parallel to each other on her now empty plate.

"_Gochisosama!"_ cheered Nami, playfully clapping her chopsticks together as though they were extensions of her hands. "Thank you for the food, _Otou-san_!"

"That was breakfast _and_ lunch," Setsu rose from the dining table and cleared away the used dishes. With only one slipper on, she brought them to the sink and turned on the tap.

"Brunch!" paraphrased a high-pitched Nami, joining Setsu by the sink. "Setsu-_chan_?"

Coarse, calloused hands slipped into a pair of plastic gloves, soaped a sponge, and slid the foamy sponge onto a dirty plate. "_Nani_?"

"Why don't you let _me_ do this?" Nami gently tugged the plate off Setsu's gloved hands and began rinsing it with her own bare ones. "You haven't bathed yet, right?"

Setsu's facial expression contorted into one sour, awful mess. "So you're saying that I _need_ a bath already—"

Nami laughed aloud, even more color flooding to already rubicund cheeks. "I don't mean _that_! It's just that… _eeto_, Hagiri-_kun_ is coming to pick you up soon, so—"

Setsu stole a peek at her wristwatch. "When you're right, you're really not left. I'll be back."

A secret twinkle in her eye, Setsu strode into her bedroom and locked the door behind her.

A willowy hand absently circling a saucer more times than it should, Nami repeated Setsu's last words to herself. "'When you're right… you're really not left'… _Eeto…_"

Mayonaka Tsuzuku closed the refrigerator door. "When you're right, you're right, Minaku. That's what she meant."

"Ah! _Sou ka_!" Nami set the saucer down and picked up a bowl. "Why didn't she just say so???"

"You know Kisetsu. You'll never get her to say what she doesn't want you to hear."

* * *

"_Ne_, did you hear? Minamino-_kun_ was called to The Terror's office!"

"_That_'s a first!"

"Oh, no! I'm sure Minamino-_sama_ didn't do anything wrong!"

"He _can't_ get fired! He just _can't_!"

And the cubicles in the department room flooded with tears.

* * *

"These should be enough." Setsu zipped her bag shut.

For the first time that day, a dry, disbelieving disapproval arrested Nami's face. "Are you serious, Setsu-_chan_??? That's it???"

"_Un_," Setsu slung a purple backpack strap over her shoulder. "What is so hard to believe?"

"You didn't even pack a bikini! Or a negligee! Or even a chemisette!"

"A _what_?" Setsu blinked and flung her bedroom door open. "And a bikini? I'm not going to the beach, Nami-_chan_. And even if I were, I would rather die than be seen in that—"

"Shhh! Don't say that!" A petite ivory hand clamped Setsu's mouth. "They say it's bad luck to talk like that! You might tempt Fate!"

"Please. What drops from one's lips would not even matter if Fate did not like one from the very beginning."

"Lips?" Nami automatically dove towards her trusty shoulder bag and frantically fished into its pouches and pockets. "Where is it, where is it?"

"_Hn_?" Setsu eyed her wristwatch. Kaname was to arrive any minute now.

Suddenly, a stick of squidgy, cherry-flavored gunk came into moist contact with Setsu's thin lips.

"Nami." Threatened an ominously low, rough voice. "Put. That. Thing. AWAY."

"Shhh! Don't talk! Just for a moment, okay? I'm going past your corners because you keep on talking!"

A brutish grumble boiled in Setsu's throat. What was with Nami's fascination for dolling her up? "Nami, Ame-_kun_ might mistakenly believe that I've finally lost it."

"He's a boy, Setsu-_chan_!" The teenage girl giggled, evidently enjoying her best friend's resistance—or sudden, unusual lack of it this time. "He'll be too busy ogling to think!"

Setsu sighed. _Not all males are as you say they are, Nami-_chan_. I know of one who is always too busy thinking to ogle…_ "Lay it on too thick, Nami, and I'll look like a circus clown without the anemic face paint."

"Ooh, ooh! Do you mean to tell me you want the works???"

"Whoever told you that I 'want the works'?"

"_You_ did!" Nami aimed an excited pointer finger straight at her reluctant best friend. "Just now!"

Setsu knocked herself on the head. Hard.

_Nope, still conscious. Darn it._

* * *

"Minamino-_kun_." Dark burgundy lips parted. Spangled painted fingernails repeatedly rapped on the conference table one by one—first the pointer, followed closely, rhythmically, by the middle, the ring, and the pinkie—first slowly, then faster, and faster, and faster; rising, screeching, screaming, playing a progressively tensing, nerve-racking crescendo…

… Had it been anyone else summoned to that dreaded office.

Kurama closed his ears to the sound of intended intimidation. Fearless of even fear itself, he looked his supervisor straight in the eye. "_Hai_."

"Will you have a problem with that arrangement?"

"No."

"I appreciate your cooperation," smiled chapped, aged lips. "I must admit I had my doubts about you accepting this condition. But you're still young! You can manage!"

_It was inevitable after all,_ Kurama clenched a fist in his pants pocket. _To think I would not have to go through it any longer… I was mistaken._

* * *

"This is a nightmare."

A shameful, cheerless Setsu treaded through the Mayonaka condominium unit with especially heavy feet and an even heavier heart.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

She could not even tell who just spoke—_Oyaji_, Nami-_chan_, or worse—both of them.

"If this is about packing a pair of shorts again, I already told you. No."

"But it's summer—"

"Never mind me possibly melting in my pants. If I'm not mistaken, Kazuyu-_'ji-san_ has a stepson, whom I don't know at all. And I _will_ feel uncomfortable—if not indecent—prancing around in needlessly short shorts before him, considering that he's a total stranger."

"Aren't you forgetting something else?"

A natural blush eclipsed the fine pink powder on Setsu's cheeks. Without meeting her _Oyaji_'s eyes, she briskly strode to him and bowed her head before him, short scruffy locks tumbling before her face.

"I will call you once a day. Both of you. Nami, don't get yourself grounded from using the phone, _onegai_."

"Okay," whispered a shrill soprano. "Aren't you at least going to kiss us?"

"Don't push it."

Setsu entered the elevator in silence. She pressed for the ground floor and found an expressionless, emotionless face staring blankly back at her.

She pressed her hand onto the cold metal door, admiring the shine and sheen of the already decades-old elevator. Its steel had been stainless for as long as she could recall. And she had taken this elevator her whole life.

Of course, it had let her down before. Countless times did she hit the emergency button and wait for rescue. She was so accustomed to the confinement crisis that she had already learned to take a deep breath, assume an Indian sitting position on the polished marble, retrieve her homework assignments from her schoolbag, and finish them while she waited for the elevator to move again.

Its reflective walls had seen her change uniforms through the years. They had witnessed her exhausted—wrung bone dry of life—from a hard, haggard day. Frantically scrawling on reams and reams of paper; first clumsily, amateurish at the arts, but besting herself with timed practice and practiced time. Pushing, pulling, lugging, and leaving everything, from luggage to groceries to water bottles by the gallon. It caught her alone. With company. With so many companions that she suffocated in the enclosed booth. With her father. With Minaku. With Kaname.

And once upon a time… a long, long time ago… those buttons up there were simply impossible to reach. This elevator—this antiquated yet still functional mechanical platform—had somehow taught a small, stupid child to tiptoe and jump.

A smile threatened to curl Setsu's thickly painted lips. _Such a rusty yet trusty childhood memory_.

A most familiar PING parted the metal shafts.

Long, lean legs in sinfully tight jeans straddled a sleek blue Yamaha. A flaming red windbreaker—_my eyes can't miss it even if they tried_, chuckled Setsu to herself—hugged hips slender and strong. Gloved hands gripped the handlebar of the two-stroke motorcycle. And fierce, smoldering violet firestorms burned her alive.

She took long, sweeping strides towards the twin flames, a weak-willed insect drawn to a dangerous, lethal light.

Before his lips could even separate to speak, hers broke the silence.

"I know. Shut up."

"But I haven't said anything."

"Just so you know, I _let_ her get away with this. We might not see each other all summer."

Hagiri Kaname raised a gloved hand to level with Setsu's heavily painted face. The hand lingered alongside a crimson cheek. Not to touch. Just tease.

"You suck at goodbyes."

"I know." Wide blue orbs blinked at the nearby hand. "I should at least walk her home. Will you wait?"

"You've kept me waiting _this_ long. What's another hour?" The hand drew away from the face. "And give _him_ a proper goodbye, too."

"_Aa_," the retreating figure called out as she launched back into the building. "I will."

_He's sweeter to my father than I am._

* * *

"I was not terminated," said Kurama for what believably seemed to be the millionth time that day.

A throng of female employees huddled even closer to his already stuffy cubicle.

"But you were called to _her_ office, Minamino-_kun_! What did she want from you?"

"I hope she didn't ask you to do any kinky 'favors'…"

Gasps exploded from throats. "_NANIIIIIIIII?!?!_"

This time, even the most macho of male employees joined in the commotion.

"YOU _DIDN'T_!"

"PLEASE TELL US YOU DIDN'T, MINAMINO-_SAMA!_"

"Dude! You're into cougars?"

"Why, oh, WHY couldn't it have been MEEEEEEEE?!?!?!"

Kurama closed his eyes. "_Minna_."

The gruff, husky alto that escaped his lips was gruffer and huskier than it had ever sounded within the four walls of the department room. It muted even the most talkative mouth in the crowd.

"I am not leaving this company soon, and I have no intention of doing so. I will simply shoulder an additional responsibility by the end of this quarter."

"That's the end of this summer!"

"Were you promoted, Minamino-_sama_?"

"MINAMINO WAS PROMOTED? LET'S CELEBRATE!"

"PARTY! PARTY! PARTY!"

Kurama sighed. _How the tide can turn with the drop of a word._

* * *

"We've been to every store in Yukimi _and_ Mushiyori!" Kaname yelled from within his helmet. "Still can't find it?"

"_Iie_! All brown!" Setsu was unaccustomed to raising her own voice. But she had to. Her vocal volume was beyond Kaname's earshot due to her own helmet as well as the highway wind wildly thrashing against their ride. "_Mengo_!_"_

Kaname knew fully well that his girlfriend was no screamer. From years and years of listening to former classmates, hers was without a doubt the mellowest, most mature voice that he had ever heard. It did not take much to chafe her throat. He did not want to make her cry out more than she already had.

He hit the brakes, and the motorbike skidded to a full stop on the safe side of the freeway. The biker parked his feet on the asphalt to balance the motorcycle.

"The ones that I found weren't white," resumed a now softened murmur from behind him. "Why did you stop?"

The bad boy ignored the question altogether. "Where will we go now?"

He felt a helmet gently press upon his back. She knew his true answer. "I don't know."

Lavender eyes widened. That smart mouth rarely declared ignorance so openly.

"We missed one shop in the business district." He kicked the bike back into full gear.

_Arigatou, Ame-_kun_._

* * *

_A white fox plushie_, Kurama read in his mental notes.

Even today, the day guard of Tower One still eyed Kurama quizzically. But the corporate employee was preoccupied with another matter closer to home and family.

_There's a toy store in the next block_…

* * *

"NO PARKING!" A stout policeman in (nearly bursting) uniform somehow managed to cross his arms before his bloated, blubbery chest. "The whole central business district is a tow-away zone! Even for motorcycles!"

"What if the driver himself remains in his vehicle the entire time with the hazard light flashing? Only I will buy something from that shop—" Setsu pointed to the toy store before them. "—and I won't take very long—"

"THE LAW IS THE LAW!"

Kaname cast a sidelong glance at his passenger behind him. "Tsuki. Go."

Setsu swung a leg down the motorbike, her hands on the straps of her knapsack.

"Leave it."

"_Iie_," refused Setsu, readjusting the straps nearly sliding off her shoulders. "You have nowhere to put it. I don't want _my_ backpack affecting _your_ driving."

"Children!" The staunch, strict officer whipped out a pen and a pad of tickets. "Both of you have ten seconds to prove to me you're not gonna park anywhere near _my_ turf!"

Violet flames met blue ice. In an instant, a blue motorcycle and a violet backpack parted ways and vanished from the police officer's sight.

* * *

_What purpose could this serve Shuuichi? He doesn't play with this kind of toy…_

Kurama took the stuffed animal in his hands. He had no other item to choose from the display—the other toys in the image and likeness of a fox were not white in color.

"Brown. Brown. Black. Brown. Brown. Brown. Brown."

_That voice…!_

Kurama whirled to face a motorcycle helmet.

A startled "_Hn_?" erupted from within the protective headgear. "Minamino-_sempai_, you have the last white fox plushie in stock."

The helmet rose, shielded yet still windswept dark hair exploding into Kurama's view. Mayonaka Setsuki's weary face was the living portrait of a most hopeless despair.

"My _otouto_ asked me for it, Mayonaka-_san_."

"Did he specifically ask for a _white_ one?"

"He did."

She sighed, and The Portrait of Shattered Hopes magically came to life. "So many brown foxes here, and in every other toy store around the city." Downcast, dejected eyes languidly scanned their immediate surroundings. "But even the shops in Mushiyori City didn't have them in white."

Green eyes gazed upon the small plushie. _So she needs a white one as well. She even checked in Mushiyori… She has certainly taken more trouble than I have. _"When do you need this?"

"Hopefully by today." A knapsack burdening her back and a helmet under the crook of her arm, Setsu busily rummaged through the rows and rows of stuffed animals (dis)arranged before them. "I will see my cousin today."

Kurama motioned to take the bag and helmet, or at least just one of them, from her. "So you intend to buy this for your cousin."

"_Un_," Setsu shook her head and smiled weakly. "The last time that we saw each other, he used to own a white fox plushie just like that one. But I accidentally stained it. And as if _that_ wasn't bad enough, I took it from him without him knowing. I _tried_ bleaching it back to normal, but it was never the same again."

_Your confession does not resolve any of my questions_, Kurama told her in his mind. _Yet…_

Suddenly Setsu found an outstretched palm between her and Kurama. Cradled in the palm was the very stuffed toy for which she had sought, searched, and scavenged in two cities.

"Thanks, but no, thanks. You need it more than I do."

"_Oh, look at you!"_ exclaimed an unexplained and unexplainable voice from thin air. "_All grown up and cheating on your boyfriend!"_

A gasp caught in Setsu's throat.

An invisible, inaudible presence lurked in their midst. Kurama winced. _You again! You cannot escape this time!_ "Mayonaka-_san_—"

"You feel it too, _ne _Minamino-_sempai_?"

Kurama froze. All this time, he had been suspecting a _ningen_ girl of keeping a secret identity that has now emerged before him and _her herself_!

_So she is not—!_

The ghost laughed with carefree abandon, shaking the heaps and heaps of toys in the store. "_If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were referring to something romantic!"_

A bead of sweat trickled down Kurama's brow. "Can you see or hear him?"

"_Iie_," Setsu shook her head slowly, tightening her grip on her helmet. "You?"

"Neither can I."

"_Awww,_" cooed the nameless, faceless being. "_You two have something in common—a great, pathetic fear of the unknown. And of _me_!_"

A stuffed animal caught the eye of the phantom. "_What's this?_" With a graceful wave of its hand, it swept the toy away from Kurama's fist and into its own palm. "_Is this inanimate creature the beeline that led you two to each other today?_"

Shock electrified both humans. The intangible entity was able to handle a _tangible_ object!

"_Nani_?" gasped Kurama.

"Give it back," snapped a wide-eyed Setsu.

The supernatural being repeatedly tossed and caught the white fox plushie in its hand. "_Make me, Setsuki-_chan_! Or should I say—_"

A motorcycle helmet suddenly sliced through the air and crashed into the ghost's hand.

The enigmatic creature wailed in pain. Both the helmet and the plushie plummeted downward. Kurama lunged forward and caught the helmet; Setsu the toy.

" _H-How _dare_ you!_" shrieked the anonymous apparition. "_Foolish _ningen_!"_

Kurama's expression flickered. _His _ki… _It's fading!_

Just as he leapt towards the direction to which he sensed the ghost escaping, the world spiraled right before his eyes. An unknown but intense energy hardened his entire body.

_Masaka! I'm being frozen!_

"Mina—"

But he heard no more.

* * *

She was falling, falling into an unfathomable black chasm, with nothing to hold on to—not even herself. Which was slipping away faster, her body or her sanity? Where are they now?

_A gut-wrenching weightlessness. Full physical paralysis. And yet full mental awareness of one's paralysis. Like falling from a cliff blind,_ she told herself. _To be fully aware of one's falling, but to never know when one will finally hit rock bottom…_

_This is sickening._

"Mayonaka-_san_!"

A red haze blinded her. She blinked the blur away and found a torrent of red hair splashing into view.

All of a sudden, she could feel again. That hand clasping her left shoulder… _It's strong. Bodily strong. Yet it knows its strength. It knows when to be weak._

"Minamino-_sempai_—"

"Are you all right?"

"Alive? Yes. Sane? Still wondering."

_I am also wondering how you recovered earlier than I did._

* * *

His briefcase on one hand and a package on the other, Kurama absently roamed through street after dimly lit city street, lost in thought.

_Now I know why that incident at the park did not faze her_. _She's used to the paranormal._

Kurama recognized a two-storey house slowly but surely emerging from the distance.

_She must be aware of Sniper's Ability. She must have already seen it for herself as well._

He was fast approaching the Minamino-Hatanaka residence now. He spotted the Toyota parked in their garage. His stepfather must have driven it home, then.

_Could she also have her own?_

He swiveled the front gate open and promptly shut it behind him, the plastic bag with the white fox plushie inside crinkling in response to his every move.

He eyed the package for a while.

"_May I have it?" She held up the toy in her hands._

"Un._" He handed her bike helmet back to her. "Give it to your cousin."_

_Moving at a speed that Kurama did not expect of her, Setsu swapped the helmet in his hand with the plushie in hers. "I meant my helmet," she chuckled quietly. "Your _otouto_ is waiting for his toy."_

"_What about your—"_

"_Oh. Never mind. My _itoko_ is already too old for it, anyway. Besides, you saw it first."_

"_I could tell my _otouto_ I couldn't find it…"_

"_That is what _I_ will tell my _itoko. _Let's not both lie to family, _ne_?" Dimples shyly revealed themselves on the corners of her cheeks. "I'm already my _itoko_'s worst cousin ever for damaging and stealing his toy. But I believe that your _otouto_ must consider you the best big brother in this world. So don't do anything to change that."_

"_Mayonaka-_san, _I am my _otouto_'s _only_ big brother."_

"_Exactly."_

Kurama lightly knocked on the front door and turned the knob. "_Tadaima_."

Shiori's warm maternal smile never failed to welcome him home. "_Okaeri nasai_, Shuuichi."

His stepfather was on the rocking chair by the TV, his eyeglasses nearly sliding off the bridge of his nose too deeply buried in the Business section of today's evening paper. So the top of the head peeping from the sofa facing away from him must be Shuuichi-_kun_.

But he could see _two_ heads peeking from the sofa!

Shiori took his briefcase from his hand. "Shuuichi, our guest is here."

An eager, enthusiastic Shuuichi hopped from the couch to his older stepbrother. "_Oi, 'Nii-san! _Do you have it?"

"You are very fortunate," the distracted Kurama handed the package to his _otouto_, green eyes hazy, distant. "It was the last one in stock. _Otouto_, who—"

"_Aa_, my _itoko_! Her late mother was '_Tou-san_'s sister!" Shuuichi waved the package in the air. "_Oi, itoko_! Come here and meet my _'Nii-san_!"

_I have a sneaky feeling about this…_

A short-haired individual rose from the couch and whirled to face Shuuichi, Shiori, and Kurama.

No mystical being was around.

They simply froze on their own.

Hatanaka Shuuichi took the white fox plushie out of its bag and tossed it towards Mayonaka Setsuki. "Catch!"

She did not. The toy brushed against motionless hands and promptly dropped to the carpet.

"The last time Setsu-_itoko_ and I saw each other, her birthday was coming up, and I knew she wanted a white fox plushie as a present," explained a Shuuichi entirely oblivious to the silent stillness of his two relatives flanking him. "I bought one in advance, but it got lost even before her birthday. I felt pretty bad about that, so I decided to make it up to her someday. That's why I asked you to buy one now!"

Both Setsu and Kurama were piecing the puzzle together.

"So my _itoko_…"

"Is my _otouto_…"

"…And what _I_ intended to give _him_…"

"…Was what _he_ intended to give _you_."

An encouraging Shiori gently prodded Kurama towards Setsu. "Shuuichi, this is Shuuichi-_kun_'s cousin, Mayonaka Setsuki-_chan_. Setsuki-_chan_, this is my son from my first marriage. His name is Shuuichi, too, but he is a Minamino."

The two remained speechless. He extended a hand towards her slowly. And she shook his hand just as slowly.

Kurama sweat-dropped. "Mayonaka-_san_."

Setsu massaged one of her temples. "Minamino-_sempai_."

"Something's telling me things are gonna change around here," beamed Shuuichi.

_I couldn't agree with you more._

**Continued**

Yes—in this fanfic, Kurama _does_ drive. A car with no less than a manual transmission, too. (Which is way more challenging than an automatic to me!)

Just in case you were wondering… Setsu arrived at the Minamino residence ahead of Kurama because Kaname brought her there on his motorcycle, whereas Kurama simply walked.

P.S. Sorry **krm3DeeDee-**_**san**_, no blood here. But Chapter 6 will be different. XD

**Japanese to English translations and abridged YYH glossary**

_**aa**_ and _**un**_. Slang for _yes_ and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
_**akasaki**_. _Red tip / red point_ (_aka_ is the color_ red_, and _saki_ is _tip_ or _point_), used as a name in this fic  
_**ame**_. _Rain_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**anata**_. A form of the word _you_ used only by females to address their husbands  
_**ara**_. A Japanese expression roughly translated to the English interjections _oh dear_ or _oh my  
__**arigatou**_. _Thank you_, less formal than _arigatou gozaimasu_**  
****-**_**chan**__. _An honorific used to address _girls_, _animals_, or anything that the speaker considers to be cute  
_**eeto**_,_** eh**_, and _**hn**_. Disfluencies of speech (much like the English _uh _and _um_), not limited to the Japanese language  
_**gochiso**_. A shortened and disrespectful manner of saying _gochisosama_, a traditional Japanese expression of gratitude customarily uttered _after_ meals (much like changing a prayer to _thanks for the grub_)  
_**gomen**__._ _Sorry_, less formal than _gomen nasai  
**hai**_. _Yes  
__**iie**__._ _No_  
_**itoko**_. _Cousin  
__**ittai**_. _How / what in the world_ (not to be confused with _itai_, an interjection expressing pain, much like the English _ouch_ or _that hurt_)  
_**'ji-san**_. A contraction of _Oji-san_, a respectful address for one's own _uncle  
_'_**kaa-san**__. _A contraction of _Okaa-san_, a respectful address for one's own _mother  
__**Kaname**_. _Strength_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kanarazu**_. _For sure / for certain / I will make sure of it_  
_**ki**_. Refers to supernatural _power_; not limited to the YYH universe  
_**ki o tsukete**_. _Take care (of yourself)_  
_**kisetsu**_. _Season_, used as a name in this fic  
**-**_**kun**__. _An honorific used to address _boys_ or boyish girls  
_**kya**_. An onomatopoetic word for a _female _shriek or scream  
_**masaka**__. No way / impossible_  
_**mayonaka**__. Midnight_, used as a name in this fic  
_**mengo**__. _Not an actual Japanese word; Mayonaka Setsuki's version of _sorry  
__**Minamino**__. Southern field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**minna**_._ All / everyone  
__**nami**_. _Wave_, used as a nickname in this fic_  
__**nani**__. What / what is it  
__**ne**__. _An expression for seeking confirmation (much like the English tag questions _isn't it _or _okay_)  
'_**nii-san**__. _A contraction of _Onii-san_, a respectful address for one's own _older brother  
__**ningen**__. Human / human being  
__**ohayou**_. _Good morning_, less formal than _ohayou gozaimasu  
__**oi**__. _An expression similar to the English _hey_, not limited to the Japanese language  
_**okaeri nasai**_. _Welcome home_, said formally; a customary response to _tadaima_  
_**onegai**__. Please_, less formal than _onegaishimasu  
__**osoi**_. _Slow (in physical, locomotive, or kinetic speed)  
__**Otou-san**_. A respectful address for one's own _father  
__**otouto**__. Little brother / younger brother  
__**oyaji**__. Old man_, used to address one's own father in this fic  
_**-sama**__. _An honorific used to address someone very respectfully, like _lord _or _master_  
**-**_**san**__. _An honorific used to address someone politely  
**-**_**sempai**__. _An honorific used to address an upperclassman  
_**setsu**_. _Opinion_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**Shuuichi**__. Excellence first_, used as a name in this fic  
_**sou ka**_. _That's right / I just remembered  
__**tadaima**_. _I'm home_, said informally; customarily responded to with _okaeri (nasai)_  
'_**tou-san**__._ A contraction of _Otou-san  
__**tsuki**__. Moon_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**tsuzuku**_. _Continuation_, used as a name in this fic  
_**wakatta**_. _I understand_

Yet again, if I missed anything that you need translating or explaining, just say so in the Reviews page. **Please REVIEW! I'll dedicate the next chapter to you! ^-^**


	6. The Forgotten Form of the Romantic

**Apologia  
****  
**Sigh. I miss updating this fanfic.

I truly apologize for taking so long to post this new chapter. It was not at all of my intention to abandon this fanfic for as long as I did.

I am well aware that telling you the reasons behind my sudden hiatus will not turn back time. I just want to share them with you, I guess.

One: I had to review—no, cram like hell—for the TOEFL. (Just in case you don't know, it stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language. Nope, English is not my native language.) I took it on the 23rd of January. Thankfully, my score was higher than the absolute minimum my post-graduate university of choice required of me. YAY!

Two: I also had to process my application for admission to my post-grad university. It wasn't easy, considering it's so far away—in an entirely different continent!

And three: My laptop just crashed. I just had it reformatted.

Now that I've updated you (on my personal life XD), I shall now update the actual fanfic. Again, sorry to make you wait this long!

**A/N  
**And to make it up to you, I made this chapter a little special. What do I mean by that? Well, warm up your vocal cords now! Feel free to **sing along with Kurama!** (I'm not kidding! XD)

The song that Kurama will sing in this chapter is in _both_ Japanese and English. You may join him in whichever language you like. ^-^ When I transliterated its lyrics to English, I tried my best to match the syllabication of the Japanese lyrics _and_ retain the essence of the English translation as accurately as possible. But please note that I worded the English lyrics the way I did in order to best abide by the plot of this fanfic.

Happy reading! And singing! ^^

* * *

This songfic chapter is dedicated to **Anaea-**_**san**_, **WorldsAngel-_san _**(twice!), **Kaori Minamino-**_**san**_, **yellow worm-**_**chan **_(twice, too!), **animegirl2961-**_**san**_, **DoilyRox-**_**san**_, **rain chant-**_**san**_, and **Athena'sOracle-**_**san**_. Thank you for reviewing my favorite chapter in this fanfic so far! It was a mess, but at least they're under the same roof now. XD

As for my readers who kindly added this fanfic to their Favorites and Alerts, but have **not at all **reviewed yet—not even once… **I would **_**love**_** to hear from you!  
**–Mikage-_chan_

**6: The Forgotten Form of the Romantic  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **The Romantic Form of the Forgotten**

Kurama found his knuckles pressed against his own bedroom door, his other hand curled around its brass knob.

_Behind this door_. An ominous suspicion clouded endless emerald eyes. _Right behind this door is either family or a foe in disguise._

_If she truly has something to hide, did she just willingly surrender herself to enemy territory? Is she plotting a close-range attack? Infiltration from the inside? _

Distant eyes narrowed in deep thought.

_Shikashi… I don't think she would threaten us on her first night here. That would be too obvious. She would be more subtle—_

"GET AWAY FROM THERE, '_NII-SAN_! NOW!"

The same eyes widening in surprise, Kurama whirled towards the sudden outcry. _More subtle than Shuuichi, that's for sure._

His thunderous charging footsteps announcing his fast-approaching arrival, Hatanaka Shuuichi emerged from another room in the second floor of the Minamino home, dragging a massive wooden chair with him. "STAND BACK!"

Kurama took a step back just as a heavily stampeding Shuuichi propped the backrest of the chair against his older stepbrother's bedroom door.

"Shuuichi! What are you doing?"

"Blocking off _itoko_'s only exit," the boy pointed out matter-of-factly, as if what he just did was a most customary manner of treating houseguests in his civilization. His lips twisted into a sinister sneer. "So she can't escape."

_Escape? Shuuichi, just how much do you know about Mayonaka-_san_? Is she not a _ningen_ after all? Will she be a danger to us—_

"_Demo_, '_Nii-san_, were you supposed to get something from in there? Here," Shuuichi planted his hands on either side of the chair again. "I'll hold her in for you—just get in, get your stuff, and get out quick."

"_Iiya_." Kurama eyed his stepbrother squarely. "_Otouto_, why did you just trap your older cousin inside my room?"

Shuuichi the Younger scratched his cheek, laughing uneasily. "You don't know how stubborn Setsu-_itoko_ can get, '_Nii-san_! Once she realizes she's in your room, she'll be too proud and embarrassed to spend the night there." He even nodded for emphasis. "If I don't shut her in there now, we'll be lucky to find her curled up and dirty under a radiator in our garage in the morning!"

_False alarm,_ Shuuichi the Elder sighed to himself. _We weren't thinking along the same lines after all._

Suddenly the doorknob spun once, twice. The stepbrothers' eyes widened.

"_Hn_?" hummed a familiar mellow voice from behind the door. "Why won't this open? It locks from the inside…"

Kurama's lips were already parting to speak when Shuuichi clapped a hand on his '_Nii-san_'s shoulder and shook his head.

"Oh. Now I know what's going on."

Minamino and Hatanaka Shuuichi could almost feel two sharp, whirring construction drills slowly but surely boring a hole through the door—and their skins. Such a deep, penetrating blue gaze… Cold… Evil…

"Since you have rendered me unable to do so myself, _itoko_, bid Shiori-_'ba-san_, Kazuyu-_'ji-san_, and Minamino-_sempai_ a good night for me, _onegai_."

_She didn't sound furious at all_, blinked Kurama. _Must be planning something._

The mischievous younger cousin nodded in silence, trying—and failing—to stifle a fit of shameless giggles of victory.

"Oh, and ask _sempai_ if he will allow me to plug my new Guitar Hero game in one of the sockets here, _ne_?"

"YOU GOT GUITAR HERO?" exclaimed a naïve Shuuichi, hurling the chair away from the doorway and flinging the door wide open. "Hurry up, _itoko_, let's play!"

_Ah. Still the same, this _ningen_._

Kurama exchanged knowing glances with a now visible Setsu, whose small dimpled grin of amusement—and true victory—was just contagious.

_Family or foe, so far she is a danger to Shuuichi,_ he chuckled to himself.

* * *

"Stupid…" mumbled Shuuichi in between long guttural snores. "…'_toko_…"

Eyelids broke apart and exposed focused green orbs—not just awake, but attentive. Kurama shielded his eyes from the beam of the nightlight plugged at the corner socket of Shuuichi's bedroom.

"_I_ never _sleep with a nightlight on! What am I, six?" The fifteen-year-old young man folded his arms across his chest and pouted in denial. "But we'll use one tonight only 'cause you're sleeping over in my room and I don't want you stepping on my stuff!"_

_Kurama held his hands up in reassurance. "All right, _otouto, _I believe you—you never sleep with a nightlight on," he repeated, his brotherly smile true to his word, yet somehow teasing. "But by tomorrow night, you should have already cleared out all the 'stuff' I could 'step on' in the first place, okay?"_

A small smile tugged at the older Shuuichi's lips. Keeping one eye on his stepbrother's sleeping form, Kurama soundlessly pulled his blanket away from himself, rose from the bed, and slipped his feet into his shoes.

"… Wanna… play… Guitar… He… ro…"

Throwing one last affectionate glance at his endearing, sleep-talking little brother, he closed Shuuichi's bedroom door behind him.

For the second time that night, Kurama found his knuckles pressed against his own bedroom door, his other hand curled around its brass knob.

_Is she still awake?_

_Should I press her for answers now? Should I wait until morning? Should I confront her at all?_

_I could pretend to look for something… It would be understandable to start my search in my own room…_

Having established a credible alibi in his mind, he lightly knocked on the door. "Mayonaka-_san_."

He waited for a response… in vain.

"_Okiteiru ka_?"

She still did not answer.

He sighed. "I'm going in."

Braced for the worst and prepared to spring into action or attack, Kurama turned the knob slowly, cautiously.

_She didn't lock it. _

Searching eyes immediately sank to his bed. No one lay in it. Its pillows and blankets had not even been touched.

_Nani? Where is she?_

He flicked the light switch on and scanned his surroundings. Everything was just as he had left them—the rows and rows of books on shelves that reached from the ceiling to the floor… the clothes closet, still closed… the writing instruments in his pen holder… the file folders alphabetized and color-coded on his desk… the swiveling chair… the curtains… the window…

A frown crossed his face. _Did I leave the window open?_

He lunged towards it and caught a familiar silhouette weaving in and out of his sight, treading amidst the trees of the Minamino garden and fading into the distance.

_A chase?_ He closed his eyes. _I accept. We must take this as far away from our family as possible._

Kurama stepped out his windowsill and leapt from branch to tree branch in stealthy secret.

* * *

_Time has ravaged us, my friend. _

She lightly pressed an exhausted, calloused hand against the trunk of the old wisteria tree. Both the tree and her hand had wrinkled with age, now rougher to the touch and wearier of the world.

_But this scenery… _

The view of the metropolis at late night from the memorial garden still took her breath away. From atop the hill of the cemetery, the City of Yukimi stretched out as far as her eye could see. Flaring lights dotting the skyscrapers and streets of the business district… Blindingly colorful billboards and LCD screens playing and displaying images and videos in a repetitive, infinite cycle—tangible proof of the boring monotony of human life and living… Waterfalls adorning the gates of sophisticated towers, splashing in artistic arches and showering refreshing sprays to cool the summer air… The crowds still teeming, seemingly crawling, along the boulevard even at this unholy hour of night, never sleeping, always in motion and in a line, forever busy, and tiny, just like ants… Sights most common to the beholder, yet most captivating to behold.

…_Timeless._

"You're bored of this view by now, _ne_, _Haha_?"

Her gaze fell to the ground by her feet. The inscription on the stone in the sand read:

KISEKI HATANAKA – MAYONAKA  
MISSED FOREVER, LOVED EVEN LONGER

Cold, blank blue eyes hid beneath a tangled web of brown hair.

"But I'm not. Not yet. I don't visit you often enough. _Mengo._"

Exhausted, calloused fingers traced the ridges and wrinkles of old wisteria bark. _Wisteria Tree, please keep my mother company for me._

Setsu slipped a black strap off her shoulder and opened a carrying case.

* * *

_I followed her to her mother's grave._

Cold, blank green eyes hid beneath a rippling wave of red hair.

_This is not the right time._ He clenched his fist. _I should not be here._

Kurama was already turning on his heels to skip through tree branches once more, this time to return home, when at the corner of his eye, he saw Setsu retrieving a long wooden object from a black carrying case.

_A violin…!_

She heaved a sigh, and then straightened her back. With silent skill, she turned the pegs and fine tuners of the violin, adjusting each string from both its ends. She then took the bow with her left hand and propped the violin under her chin, against her right shoulder.

_She's left-handed_.

Setsu seemed comfortable with the violin. Her jaw leaned snugly on the chinrest; her left elbow, though bent, was not stiff. She closed her eyes.

His feet firmly planted on a branch three trees away, Kurama chose to stay.

She drew the bow across the violin strings once, playing a slow, smooth note. The fingers of her right hand pressed against the fingerboard masterfully, sliding across its neck, knowing by ear—and perhaps by heart—where next to go. She then glided the bow across the strings fast, faster, even faster; many, many times in succession; to and fro, back and forth. She stroked the strings, tugged on them, and nearly sawed them in half. She wanted to break them all.

Her violin screeched and shrieked, shook and shuddered, spilling shrill screams from the hollow of its sound chamber. It trembled in foreboding. Danger. An ill omen.

It was the ghastliest, godliest song that Kurama had ever lived to hear.

His fingers curled closer together—he was trying to get a grip on himself literally, physically. His hands made their way to his ears, covering them, closing them. It was unbearable, unspeakable. Yet why would he not leave? Could he not leave?

_No words could describe this… this… nightmarish… song. Yet…_

It was unsettling, disturbing. But what was in question was not her playing. It was the melody itself. Hallowed. Haunted.

… _I can hear words…_

* * *

_So you followed._

She tightened her grip on the neck of her violin.

_You shouldn't have. You really shouldn't have. I might not be able to take it…_

Setsu gritted her teeth.

… _I might give it all away._

* * *

_I hear so… many… words… but cannot… understand…_

Kurama gritted his teeth.

Choruses of invisible voices blended in a hideous, holy harmony. They mourned to the skies, to all other worlds, to the deaf ears of deities. They sang an airy, ethereal gospel never before witnessed by mortal senses and sensibilities. They moaned loudly, then even more loudly, overwhelming all sound from the Human World, reducing his auditory range to nothing but their music and madness and that accursed violin.

_Who are you? _

The voices grew louder, louder, even louder—the violin could only sigh amidst their cries. They drew closer to him. Closer. Closer. They swallowed him in a tight embrace. They were loving… warm… familiar. Too familiar.

_The voices… They are one…_

Kurama closed his eyes.

… _They are mine._

His lips parted.

"_Kagirinaku tsuzuku  
_**On a cold, starry summer night  
**_ankoku no sora—  
_**I gazed upon the sky—**"

_What is this? What am I doing?_

Kurama had lost all physical and mental control of his own lips. He continued to sing.

"_Hibiwarete yuku  
_**It stretched into forever  
**_enrai no oto  
_**and had no end in sight  
**_Tachidomaru tabi  
_**Then the loud roar of thunder  
**_ashimoto ga  
_**shook the very ground  
**_yureru_.  
**where I lay.**_"_

* * *

_You even remember the thunder of that night…_

A faint, shameful smile played upon her lips.

_Soft-spoken. Pensive. Wistful. Far away._

_But you had always been that way._

* * *

_Where are these words coming from? Why do I know them?_

"_Atatakai hito no  
_**Suddenly my own lips speak of  
**_kotoba o karite—  
_**the warm words of someone gone—**"

_Who?_

"_Natsukashii hi no  
_**The self I've abandoned  
**_sugata o karite—  
_**won't leave me alone for long—**"

… _Youko…_

"_Oshiyosete kuru  
_**And tonight, my eyes will close  
**_akumu-tachi…  
_**and take me to a…**"

The last word escaped his lips in a whisper. "**…**_**Nightmare.**_"

A flood of shrill, heartbreaking notes poured out of the violin. It was all so loud that it trembled in the night—a loud roar of thunder. Indeed, the sound shook the ground where he lay.

Kurama looked up at the sky and cried aloud, drowning out even the thunderous, ground-shaking refrain.

"_Ittai… Nani ga tadashikutsu!  
_**Tell me… Someone tell me what is right!  
**_Ittai… Nani ga machigai na no ka!  
_**Tell me… Someone tell me what on earth is wrong!  
**_Omoide-tachi yo!  
_**Keeper of my memories!  
**_Ima sugu,  
_**Come to me now,  
**_kono kurayami o terashite kure!  
_**and banish the darkness consuming me alive!**"

* * *

_Omoide…!_ She bit back a gasp. _Do you know just whom you are calling out to?_

_That "keeper of your memories" is a candle burning in the night. It cannot take your personal "darkness" away._

She drew the bow across the strings in rapid succession once more, her left elbow lower this time.

_It can only guide you through the dark._

* * *

"_Taisetsu na hito o,  
_**For the one whom my heart holds dear,  
**_mamoru tame nara—  
_**whom I have sworn to defend—  
**_kono karada-goto;  
_**I will face all known danger;  
**_kizutsuite ii.  
_**I will risk my very life.  
**_Kono kokoro-goto;  
_**I don't mind getting wounded;  
**_moete ii.  
_**I will never burn.**"

_These words…_

Kurama's fingers lingered near his lips, almost touching them in unspoken uncertainty and awe.

… _They make sense now._

* * *

_For the one whom your heart holds dear, you will risk your very life…?_

Eyelids snapped open and revealed cold, glassy blue eyes.

_Enough. I can't listen to you any more._

A deep, low voice began to sing.

"_Kagirinaku tsuzuku  
_**On a cold, starry summer night  
**_ankoku no sora—  
_**I gazed upon the sky—**"

* * *

Kurama gasped. _She—!_

* * *

"_Hibiwarete yuku  
_**It stretched into forever  
**_enrai no oto  
_**and had no end in sight**," she continued.

"_Madowasareru na—  
_**Then I appeared before you—  
**_Me ni utsuru  
_**Do not let your eyes  
**_mono ni.  
_**deceive you.**"

* * *

_Those words! They're different!_

His response to the new lyrics was automatic—the words came from outside his consciousness, and yet from right in between his lips.

"_Kizutsuita mirai—  
_**Is there something I don't know here—  
**_oitsumeru no wa?  
_**a strange past I left behind?  
**_Kudakareta asu—  
_**Have you come back to haunt me—  
**_fuminijiru no wa?  
_**a ghost from a time long gone?  
**_Kono mune ni aru—  
_**Are you someone I should know—  
**_ayafuya sa…  
_**someone I used to…**"

_Who is this? "A ghost from a time long gone"? "Someone I used to—_

He breathed the last word. "**...love?**"

* * *

_That word…_

She closed her eyes again.

… _You sounded so sad._

* * *

He began to speak against the cadent crescendo of the ghostly, otherworldly choir; against the relentless trill of the violin that shivered as he told his story.

"_Hageshii ame ni utarete mo,  
_**Even when needles of rain prick through my flesh,  
**_tsumetai kaze ni sarasarete mo,  
_**even when a foul, ill wind blows no good towards me,  
**_hikari o motomete yamanai.  
_**I still seek the light of a forgotten past.  
**_Ano juboku no takumashisa—omoishiru.  
_**I see a tall, strong tree before me—in my memory.**"

* * *

_That tree…_

She sighed to herself.

_They're right about you, Ku—_ As quickly as she shot a glance at him, she looked away. _You_ are_ a_ _romantic. But not in the sense that other people mistake you to be. You're not really the stereotypical guy-offering-roses-to-girls form of the romantic._

_But you_ are_ its less popular, forgotten form. The dreamer. The idealist. The forgetful._

_The oh, so forgetful._

* * *

"_Taisetsu na hito o,  
_**For the one whom my heart holds dear,  
**_mamoru tame nara—  
_**whom I have sworn to defend—  
**_dare yori mo zutto,  
_**I will make myself stronger,  
**_hijou ni mo naru.  
_**no matter what it takes.  
**_Dare yori mo zutto—  
_**I will make myself stronger—  
**_tsuyoku naru—  
_**more than anyone—**"

He knew no more words to the song. She played no more. The song died a most mysterious, anticlimactic death.

All fell still and silent.

Setsu tilted her head up to finally face a Kurama formerly hiding on a branch three trees away. A cloudless midday sky met eye to eye with a vast, verdant meadow.

Suddenly, enthusiastic applause erupted from nearby. Both Kurama and Setsu gasped and whirled towards its direction.

A _ningen_ man stood on the largest branch of the wisteria tree beside Setsu's mother's grave. As he clapped, they noticed a rather heavy-looking black glove on his right hand.

"Pardon me, my dears, for interrupting your 'moment' together."

"Who are you?" demanded an instantly apprehensive Kurama.

"Just your average, everyday man on the street." The man arched his eyebrows and grinned impishly. "I was just passing through."

"Really? Passing through _the cemetery_ at this time of night?" retorted Setsu, who tightened her grip on her violin and bow. "Not something 'your average, everyday man on the street' would do, if you ask me."

"It's a convenient shortcut, my dears," shrugged the man. "Besides, _you_'re just like me! What are two youngsters like you doing in the cemetery at this time of night?"

"That should be none of your business."

An outraged yet pleased expression cast a shadow over the man's face. "But I _heard_ you, my dears! You were making sweet, sad music together!"

"My mother is here," insisted a frowning Setsu, throwing a concerned glance at the plot of sand by the roots of the wisteria tree. "I am free to visit her whenever I choose."

"Your _mother_?" His elderly bass voice dripping heavily of mockery, the man followed the direction of Setsu's eyes with his own. "Where?" He jumped down the wisteria branch and intentionally landed right on the stone grave in the sand. "I don't see her!"

Setsu froze.

_He just defiled the grave!_ Kurama leapt from his hiding-place and sprinted in their direction. Setsu was already lunging forward, clenching her fists and teeth, when Kurama cut in between her and the stranger, imposing a chillingly dangerous presence ready to strike.

_Don't, Mayonaka-_san._ We do not yet know if he is armed, what his weapons are, or where he is keeping them. Let me handle this. _

"The singer and the violin player. How melodramatic," scoffed the man, an ominous shadow eclipsing his eyes. "But couldn't you have chosen a happier-sounding theme song to celebrate your love? That song of yours was so _sad_!"

"You talk too much," snapped Kurama between gritted teeth.

Setsu's entire body tensed more and more by the second, barely resisting the urge to lay her hands on him herself. "I don't believe in so-called 'theme songs.' A couple would still be a couple even without one. Besides," she pointed to Kurama by tilting her head in his direction. "We're not. He's single."

"You mean _you_'re _not_? Bad girl." The man clicked his tongue thrice and wagged an accusatory finger at her. "You know, my dear, bad things happen to bad girls." He spoke slowly, threateningly. "_Many_ bad things."

_He_ is_ armed, and he's going to attack!_ "Mayonaka-_san_!"

Kurama pushed Setsu away just as the man flicked his own wrist, sending several sharp, narrow projectiles towards them.

"_Hn_?" Just as suddenly as she landed on her hands and knees, she scrambled to her feet and sped back towards Kurama. "_Sempai!_"

She took hold of the part of his person nearest to her and yanked him away from the path of the flying bullets—by the tail of his hair.

The needle-like weapons stabbed the ground mere millimeters away from the two human targets now sprawled together in a twisted heap.

Kurama found himself face-to-face with a now even more infuriated Setsu. "What were you thinking? Were you even thinking? All of those would have hit you!"

The two shot a glance at the bed of pointed objects sticking out of the ground.

A peal of wicked laughter filled the cold night air. "The Darts of Death! One alone poisons, paralyzes, and kills any human in a matter of minutes!"

Two pairs of fierce, fiery eyes threw similarly dangerous dagger gazes at the attacker. Both Kurama and Setsu stood up, the former wincing as he did so.

Setsu gasped. A spot of blood stained the left sleeve of Kurama's polo shirt.

_Did I…?_

His eyes squinting from the sudden sting, Kurama tugged on his sleeve, tearing the bloodied fabric apart to reveal a tiny dart deeply embedded in his left forearm.

Again the man guffawed loudly, proudly. He held up his gloved hand. "There's more where that came from, my dears!"

His hand gripping his punctured arm and his eyesight blurring in unspoken pain, Kurama managed to raise his gaze to level with the man's hand. The glove served as a sheath to hundreds of needles.

"As you'll soon find out, these aren't your ordinary darts," bragged their anonymous assailant. "They contain a lethal serum known to counteract the effects of the clotting chemical fibrin on the human body. In short, my dear, you will bleed to your death!"

Kurama eyed the dart in his arm closely. The metal needle gleamed in the exact same way from end to end. _There's something different about this, all right…_

"Best of all, it has no antidote! No one has created one! No one knows how!"

Ignoring the man's maniacal laughter, Setsu bit back the swear words threatening to escape her lips as she observed Kurama's wound. The bloodstain was spreading out evenly—quickly. "_Sempai_. Hold still, _onegai_."

Her pointer finger and thumb were already closing in on the dart when Kurama clapped a restraining hand on her wrist. "Don't! It's poisoned!"

She clapped her other hand on the wrist of his restraining hand. "Exactly! All the sooner that we should get it off you!"

"He's right, my dear! You might want to think twice before pulling the Dart of Death off him yourself!"

Kurama looked Setsu in the eye. "Don't touch it with your bare hands, Mayonaka-_san_," he cautioned with a calm, even tone of voice despite the growing deadness in his arm. "He himself doesn't."

* * *

Setsu blinked and glanced at their aggressor's gloved hand. _Sou ka… Even_ he_ doesn't…_

_When you're right, Minamino-_sempai, _you're really not left._

"Impressive!" The man smirked. "_Sasuga_, Kurama!"

Kurama's already enraged eyes narrowed even more threateningly at the mere mention of his name.

_Nani?_ Setsu darted glances from Kurama to their attacker. _How did he know—_

"You figured out one of the two secrets of the Darts of Death!"

Kurama's defiant glare was stabbing… deadly. "A dart is typically laced with poison only at the tip. But those darts," he winced in spite of himself. "They're thickly coated from end to end."

_So that was why he stopped me from touching it._ A visibly upset Setsu bit her lower lip. _But he is in more pain than he is willing to show_. _Or admit._ "_Sempai_, we can't just stand here and let you bleed until you're dry and dead! We _have_ to get it off you!"

"Actually, that is the least of your problems, my dear."

The man fired another volley of darts towards them.

* * *

_I can't stay on the defensive for much longer…_

Still clasping a hand on his injured arm, Kurama ran away from the incoming darts—away from their mysterious attacker—away from Setsu.

_But if I summon my_ youki_ to fight back, she will see. Whatever I do, she will know it's me._

As he ran, from the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a familiar face wrapped in worry—but not for her own life. Her reaction to the attack was more of distress than fear. "_Sempai_! Get it off you before it's too late!"

For a split second, a secret smile crossed his lips.

_If we're far from each other, only one of us could be his target._

He ran farther, further.

* * *

_Now I know what you're doing. Since this creep can aim towards only one direction at a time, distancing yourself from me reduces the chances of both of us getting hit._

Their attacker blasted another explosion of darts, this time aiming exclusively at Kurama.

"How pathetic—picking on the already injured one!" Setsu snatched her violin and broke into a mad dash towards a Kurama frozen in place, wincing from the pain of the potent poison.

In spite of her intentions, he glared at her. "Run, Mayonaka-_san_! Run _away_!"

"Iunderstand_perfectly_whyyouwantmetodothat—butIstill_won't_!" She spat in one breath, her eyes not meeting his. Her attention was on the darts that had just smashed through her wooden violin but remained flying on-course, right towards them. She dove to the ground and landed on her stomach, eluding the speeding projectiles in time.

"Those darts go through wood, my dear!"

"I noticed. And STOP. CALLING. ME. YOUR. 'DEAR'!" Her voice broke. Not only had she been straining her throat to its limit; her violent landing forced the air out of her lungs.

The wounded Kurama flipped backwards and somersaulted in mid-air, narrowly dodging the darts that the now utterly shattered musical instrument failed to block. He twirled gracefully before landing safely on the ground.

Blue eyes widened. _Hey,_ some _gymnast_ _around here could represent Japan in the Olympics._

Then a shower of needles now rained down on her.

* * *

_Oh, no! _She_'s the target now!_

_Never mind if she sees!_

Kurama thrust a hand into his hair and instantly cracked a five-meter-long whip covered in sharp, jagged thorns. "Rose Whip!"

Several rose petals took to the air from the supernatural rose-to-whip transformation. He jumped before her and thrashed the whip around in a series of successive slicing motions. "_Kagon! Retsuzanshi!_"

The technique successfully deflected the darts. But even before one round of dart-throwing ended, another one began. They simply kept on coming. He would have to change his strategy, and fast.

He whirled to face her, about to instruct and warn her of his next move. "Ma—" The mere sight of her cut him short. _Wh—What's happening to her?_

She was on her feet again, but her eyes were closing, seemingly against her will. Her hand grasped for her nose and mouth.

_Is she about to…?_

* * *

A spell of petals elegantly cascaded all around Setsu, their fragrant scent soaking her senses, swallowing her in a hazy, blurry unreality.

_Roses…? Seriously?_

She had heard him shout twice: "Rose Whip!" and "_Kagon! Retsuzanshi!"_ He might have even said something right afterwards. But she could not tell.

_For the love of sanity, run away!_ She silently screamed to herself. But her legs refused to move. Sheer impulse clamped a hand over her nose and mouth.

"A… A…"

Her eyelids were closing shut on their own. All that she managed to see were a dart whizzing past a rapidly flogging green whip and a spew of fresh blood spurting out of someone. Then darkness consumed her alive.

_Darn it, why did I have to be allergic to ro—_

"ATCHOO!"

* * *

Kurama winced. Three darts had penetrated through his Rose Whiplash technique. He was now pricked and poisoned on his other arm, his chest, and his left leg. A thick, dark red fluid oozed out of each dart and trickled to the ground.

All of a sudden, he heard Setsu sneeze. Loudly.

The man choked a gasp. The sneeze took him by so much surprise that he actually stopped throwing his darts.

_Now!_

Kurama took full advantage of the split-second opening from the man's suddenly slowed reflexes and reaction time. He cracked the Rose Whip straight towards his opponent.

Setsu recovered from her allergy attack just in time to witness the thorn-barbed whip wind around their assailant's dart-throwing hand. "Got him!"

But Kurama's vision was dimming. Blood continued to gush through his veins and out of the four darts endlessly, depleting him of energy and life. He was losing too much of it too soon.

He collected all his strength into his hands and yanked on the whip, an adrenaline-charged battle cry escaping his throat. _If I must sever his hand to stop him, I will!_

With a loud yelp of pain, the man plunged face-first onto bloodstained soil. Kurama gave his whip another powerful wrench and dragged the man around, grazing the man's face and frontal body against coarse, jagged earth. But his whip could inflict no damage upon the man's gloved hand. The man guffawed evilly even as he lay bloodied on the ground. "You can't hurt me, Kurama! Do you want _Reikai_ to know of what you just did to a _ningen_?"

Kurama's world was spinning, swirling around him. _Reikai… Ningen…_ Somewhere behind the film of haze in his eyes was either family or a foe in disguise. _Surely she can hear all this…_

"Minamino-_sempai_!"

_She sounds… so far away…_

His consciousness was slipping away.

An exhausted, calloused hand was slowly inching towards his eyes.

_Any darts… on her…?_ With his last remaining ounce of strength, he struggled and looked up long enough to give her a quick once-over. _None… that I can see…_

His eyelids did not close. But he saw no more.

* * *

"Minamino-_sempai_!"

_You were holding back because he's—!_

Setsu sank to her knees at the same time that Kurama collapsed to the ground. His eyes remained open, but they were blank… lifeless. His whip suddenly metamorphosed into a short-stemmed red rose a few meters in between him and his opponent.

"Kurama. So smart, yet so stupid. I _told_ him he will bleed to his death! But he wouldn't listen!" The man rose, brushed dust and dirt off himself, and massaged his once-tied wrist gingerly. "We all knew he wouldn't win against me! Pitiful. So sad. Just as sad as that song you sang together!" His tone was mocking again—and cockier than before. "What will you do now, _my dear_?" He stressed the words all the more, knowing fully well how much they provoked her. "He is out cold now. The poison has entered his bloodstream a long time ago. We need only wait for him to die."

An exhausted, calloused hand lightly slid down blank, lifeless eyelids, closing them gently, reverently.

Cold, ruthless blue eyes shone especially bright in the summer night.

"I can't wait that long."

The man raised a skeptical yet perversely pleased eyebrow.

"Bad girl. _Very_ bad girl."

The bottom half of her jeans drenched in the blood spattered on the ground, Setsu rose to her feet and treaded closer to the man. "You still have darts left, _ne_?"

"Why do you ask, _my dear_?" The words rolled out of his lips with contempt. "Do you plan to shoot the very young man you sang a love song with not a few minutes ago?"

"I already told you. We're not a couple."

"That's not what I was asking!" barked the man. "What a bad girl! And of course I still have a dart! Just one." He raised his pointer finger. "But if you make one wrong move, _my dear_, one is enough to finish you!"

"You need not worry about me," Setsu's lips curled crookedly, her smile as chillingly cruel as her eyes. "Do you see anything that I could possibly use to attack you anywhere in my person?" She even turned her pants pockets inside out right before his eyes. "What you should be more concerned with is how close that one dart is to _your_ skin. Who knows, the poison might seep through that glove of yours. As you yourself said, if _you_ make one wrong move, _my dear_," she chuckled with malice. "One is enough to finish _you_, too."

"And as you yourself said, _my dear_, _you_ need not worry about _me_." The man clenched and unclenched his gloved fist repeatedly just to demonstrate to her that the dart was not piercing through the glove. "The enamel on this metal glove is so strong, the poison doesn't work on it! As long as I'm wearing this glove, you cannot defeat me!"

_Enamel…! That's why that glove was impervious to_ Sempai_'s whip!_

Setsu chuckled to herself again, this time more sincerely.

"Just what is so funny, _my dear_?"

"You just gave away the second secret of those stupid darts of yours. Your glove."

The man staggered back, bewildered by her realization. "You wouldn't dare steal this glove off me! I'll hit you with the last dart! I'll hit you _right now_!"

"Relax, _my dear_. I won't do anything to you or your precious glove."

She strode back to the fallen Kurama, kneeled beside him once more, and took his left arm in her hands.

"You're going to twist it?"

"No. Bite."

The man gasped in spite of himself. "You're going to _bite_ it?"

"_Un._"

"You _wouldn't_!"

"Watch me."

Setsu raised Kurama's arm and parted her lips, baring milky white teeth that gleamed with the moonlight.

* * *

The summer night air carried a bloodcurdling yell past the trees of the cemetery. A black cloak flapped against the wild wind.

"This smell."

Eyebrows concealed beneath a white blindfold furrowed to form a vicious frown. A pair of legs resting on a tree branch uncrossed themselves and rose. A pale, small but skilled hand gripped its trusty _katana_. A tongue tasted metallic blood in the air.

"Kurama."

The afterimage of a shadow left its tree and faded away.

* * *

She bit into the needle protruding from his forearm and pulled it off his skin with her teeth.

"_NANIIIIIIII?_"

She spat the bloody dart out of her mouth and wiped the corner of her lips with her wrist. "What? You thought that I was going to bite my cousin's stepbrother's arm?"

"YOU—YOU TRICKED ME—!"

"I never said that I was going to bite his _arm_. Neither am I a cannibal nor have I taken your side."

The man fell silent. Then he suddenly started laughing—softly at first, but the longer he laughed, the more hysterical he became. "You had me there, _my dear_! But _I_ still get the last laugh! You poisoned yourself without me having to do anything at all!"

"Really? I don't think so." She leaned closer to the unconscious victim and extracted the dart from his other arm, confident in her already tried and tested method. "_Ningen _teeth are made of calcium, phosphorus, and mineral salts, which compose what is commonly known as tooth enamel." She pointed to the man's glove. "I may not know what metal _that_ enamel is made of, but the calcium in teeth _is_ a metal… It all makes sense somehow. _Ne?_"

* * *

Unconscious fingers twitched slightly.

"If the poison melts _ningen_ teeth after all, then I figured that I wouldn't mind losing several front row choppers for the cause. Jacket teeth must have been invented for reasons like mine."

Weak, heavy eyelids fluttered open.

"But the poison! It has no antidote! You shouldn't have—"

"Don't worry. I'll brush my teeth later."

A limp, listless Kurama found himself swimming in a pool of his own blood atop the hill of the Yukimi City Memorial Garden.

"DON'T YOU DARE MAKE A MOCKERY OF ME, MAYONAKA KI—"

"You and whoever sent you got my name wrong."

The man had lied about having only one dart left. He flicked his wrist again, sending an entire swarm of needles towards Setsu and Kurama.

Setsu raised her right hand, her palm facing away from her, and closed her eyes. A strong wind gusted all around her, hailing the dawn of—

"Ma…" A now conscious Kurama struggled to speak.

A gasp escaped Setsu's lips. The strange wind whirled away.

"KURAMA! YOU WOKE UP ONLY TO DIE!"

Suddenly, a sword emerged from out of the darkness and stabbed right through the man's torso. He hurled several darts towards the origin of the sword before choking and crashing to the hard ground.

Setsu blinked. "Where did that come from?"

From out of nowhere, a distant vision of a black robe surfaced before her eyes, materializing into focus only a few seconds (of surprised disbelief) later. A shock of inky black hair with distinct streaks of blue and a white starburst stood out from the inhuman, nonhuman image. It appeared to be male. He wore a white blindfold across his forehead.

"Noisy _ningen_. How dare he wake me up!"

With one merciless motion, the swordsman took his blade out of the man's body.

"But his noise was _not_ what woke you, _ne_?"

The hostile, brutal newcomer whirled around to find a bloodied Kurama by the feet of a _ningen_ girl with blue eyes.

Never had Hiei seen such cold eyes.

On a human at that.

A paralyzed, numb Kurama recognized the black cloak even by the fringes of its underside alone. They were all he could see of the _jaganshi_ in his current state. "Hiei."

"Kurama." Murderous red eyes widened and momentarily lost their bloodlust. They instantly shot a razor-sharp side glance at the blue-eyed girl. "You. _Ningen_. Go now if you wish to—"

"Some nerve you've got, ordering a total stranger around without even knowing her name."

Was that a gasp that the inhuman nonhuman held back?

"_Kudana!_" Hiei spat angrily, taken aback in spite of himself. His lips were already parting to snap a scathing retort when the barely conscious dart thrower behind him stabbed a needle right into the small of his back.

The _jaganshi_'s previously swallowed gasp finally broke away from his throat. He whirled to face the man on the ground, towering over him with his _katana_. Hiei was already raising his sword to cut the man open when the near-dead Kurama cried out as loud as he could. "Hiei! Don't!"

Hiei darted lethal glances between a Kurama helplessly sprawled on the ground and those heartless, inhuman blue eyes.

"That man… is a _ningen_… Koenma… will…"

And with that, again he fell into oblivion.

"_Che!_" The demon swordsman frowned. "You fool! Your senseless compassion for humans will be your downfall!"

"Too late. He can't hear you now."

Hiei cast a long, smoldering glare at the _ningen_ girl who had just folded her arms across her chest, a tranquil loneliness across her face.

"_Sempai_ is wrong, though. That man is no _ningen_. Not anymore." She heaved a sigh hinting of pity. "You may take his life."

Blood red eyes narrowed. "Hmph! I don't take orders from humans."

But those cold eyes… They were authoritative. Commanding. They knew what they were saying. They knew what they wanted to see.

This "friend" of Kurama's… She had a most human stench, but the heart—the heartlessness—of a demon.

"But in your case, I'll make an exception."

A thin beam of bluish white light served as the only visual evidence that Hiei had slashed the man in half.

At that moment, the poisoned dart had finally taken its life-threatening effect on the demon. Without so much as a word, Hiei fell to the ground.

Setsu whirled all around her, realizing that she was in the midst of fallen men. She eyed the three for any sign of movement or life. "Uh… Could any of you hear me and actually talk back?"

Upon presuming one clinically dead and the other two critically poisoned, she strode to the dead man, crouched to the ground, and placed two fingers on his temple. The tips of her fingers glowed for a few seconds, and then the mysterious white light ebbed away.

"Mori Hibino," she murmured to the corpse. "Tell _Haha_ that I said hello. Don't step on her again, though."

She sighed and closed her eyes.

"_Mengo_, _Haha_. You shouldn't have seen all this. Let's forget that this ever happened, _ne_?"

* * *

Eyelids broke apart. A dazed, sleepy-eyed Kurama shielded his eyes from the suddenly blinding beam of the nightlight plugged at the corner socket of Shuuichi's bedroom.

… _Haven't I done this before?_

"Stupid…" mumbled Shuuichi in between long guttural snores. "…'_toko_…"

A small smile tugged at the older Shuuichi's lips.

… _Haven't I heard that before?_

Keeping one eye on his stepbrother's sleeping form, Kurama soundlessly pulled his blanket away from himself, rose from the bed, and slipped his feet into his shoes.

… _I've done this, too._

"… Wanna… play… Guitar… He… ro…"

… _I've heard that as well._

Throwing one last affectionate glance at his endearing, sleep-talking little brother, he closed Shuuichi's bedroom door behind him.

And for the third time that night, Kurama found his knuckles pressed against his own bedroom door, his other hand curled around its brass knob.

_Is she still awake?_

_Should I press her for answers now? Should I…?_

_Okashii. Even my thoughts sound familiar._

Sighing to himself, he lightly knocked on the door. "Mayonaka-_san_."

He waited for a response… in vain.

"_Okiteiru ka_?"

She still did not answer.

He sighed. "I'm going in."

Braced for the worst and prepared to spring into action or attack, Kurama turned the knob slowly, cautiously.

_She didn't lock it. _

Searching eyes immediately sank to his bed.

A tangled web of brown hair lay on the pillow. A protective arm was snugly curled around a small white fox plushie.

Kurama smiled secretly. He clasped his left forearm, feeling for a torn sleeve, a poisoned dart, and a dripping wound that never even existed.

_Just a nightmare._

He softly treaded to the door and closed it behind him.

The soundly sleeping Setsu buried her face deeper into the pillow and held the stuffed toy closer to her chest.

_Mengo. I pulled you by your hair._

**Continued  
****  
**Did you know the song above? It's Kurama's Theme, entitled _Nightmare_—an insert song in the second YYH movie (the full-length feature one), _Yu Yu Hakusho Meikai Shitou Hen – Honou no Kizuna_ (Yu Yu Hakusho Battle with the Gods of the Netherworld – Bonds of Fire). It was the violin score playing while Kurama and Kuronue—well, the ugly brown dude pretending to be Kuronue, anyway—fought in the movie… The creepy song with the awesome drumming in the foreground. XD

If you don't know how _Nightmare_ sounds, though, then you can download an MP3 of it (and its instrumental / karaoke / sing-along / no vocals version as well!) on the official Downloads page of this fanfic! (Yup, there _is_ such a thing! ^^) Here: **4shared** (dot) **com** (slash) **u** (slash) **Ifbd0xU8** (slash) **Mikageshi** (dot) **html**

Do feel free to download away, and listen to it while reading that part of this chapter again. You _will_ appreciate this chapter much more that way. Trust me. ^-^

**Japanese to English translations and abridged YYH glossary**

'_**ba-san**_. A contraction of _Oba-san_, a respectful address for one's own _aunt  
__**che**_. A grunt or expression of disapproval, not limited to the Japanese language  
_**demo**__. But  
__**Haha**_. An informal address for one's own _mother  
__**Hiei**_. _Flying __shadow_, used as a name in this fic  
_**hn**_. A disfluency of speech (much like the English _uh _and _um_), not limited to the Japanese language  
_**iiya**_. An informal way of saying _no  
__**itoko**_. _Cousin  
__**jaganshi**_. Master of the _jagan _(third eye)**  
**_**'ji-san**_. A contraction of _Oji-san_, a respectful address for one's own _uncle  
__**ka**_. A be-verb of the Japanese language that makes any sentence a question (e.g. "_Okiteiru ka?_" means "Are [you] awake?")  
_**Kagon Retsuzanshi**_. Actually _Severing Limb Petals_, but FUNimation translated it as _Rose Whiplash_; one of human Kurama's fighting techniques, uses the Rose Whip  
_**katana**_. A _sword_ in general; many YYH fans mistake this word to be the name of Hiei's sword, but its actual name is _Jao(u) Ensatsu Ken_ (Sword of the Darkness Flame)  
_**Koenma**_. _Little Enma / child of Enma_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kudana**_. Hiei says this to mean _stupid_, _worthless_, or _petty_, always in reference to a human (most often Kuwabara), but the actual Japanese word for these meanings is _kudaranai  
__**mayonaka**__. Midnight_, used as a name in this fic  
_**mengo**_. Not an actual Japanese word; Mayonaka Setsuki's version of _sorry_ in this fic  
_**Minamino**__. Southern field,_ used as a name in this fic  
_**nani**_**. **_What  
__**ne**__. _An expression for seeking confirmation (much like the English tag questions _isn't it _or _okay_)_  
_'_**nii-san**__. _A contraction of _Onii-san_, a respectful address for one's own _older brother  
__**ningen**__. Human / human being  
__**okashii**_. _Strange  
__**okiteiru**_. _Awake_ (not sleeping); an adjective, not a verb_  
__**onegai**__. Please_, less formal than _onegaishimasu  
__**otouto**__. Little brother / younger brother  
__**Reikai**_. _Spirit World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Demon World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
**-**_**san**__. _An honorific used to address someone politely  
_**sasuga**_. _As (I) expected (of you)_, a term of praise synonymous to _impressive_  
**-**_**sempai**__. _An honorific used to address an upperclassman  
_**setsu**_. _Opinion_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**shikashi**_. _However_  
_**Shuuichi**__. Excellence first_, used as a name in this fic  
_**sou ka**_. _That's right  
__**un**__._ Slang for _yes_ and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
_**youkai**_**. **_Demon  
__**youki**_. _Demon(ic) power_

You already know the drill—if I missed anything that you need translating or explaining, just say so in the Reviews page. **Please REVIEW! Thank you so much! ^-^**


	7. The Male After All

**A/N  
**Hm. Quite a slow review week I just had there. Oh, well. Life goes on. So will this fanfic.

This (not-so-bloody) new chapter is, as always, dedicated to the readers who took the time and mental energies to review the previous chapter:

**krm3DeeDee**_**-san**_: Hey there! Nice to hear from you again. ^.^ I don't mind that you didn't review Chapter 5. If you had nothing to say about it, then I really shouldn't force you. ^-^ Although that was new to me—you're always brimming with ideas.

About that Mori character… You shall wait no longer. The answers are in this chapter. \^o^/ And that line… But you _did_ figure it out! XD All it meant was the entire fight sequence _wasn't_ just a nightmare to Setsu. To her, it actually happened.

I'm sorry you considered Hiei OOC in Chapter 5. I just thought that sneaky dart-to-the-back attack would be enough to make Hiei want to take the guy's life. I myself don't think he'd slay someone just because the dude turned Kurama into a blood fountain, or because some arrogant stranger prodded him to do so. Ugh. Hiei confuses me. I'm now babbling, too. XD

About the "poison does not seep through enamel" part—LOL—I got that (dumb) idea right after knocking on my two front teeth with my knuckles once. I realized that teeth are _way_ stronger than skin. XD Besides, I couldn't have inserted pliers or some other dart-pulling tool into that scene. That would have been random. Not to mention weird. And wrong. XD

Oh, that allergy _will_ play a rather significant role near the end of this fanfic, by the way. I'm just saying. No blinking spoiler here. ^^

You know, I watch La Corda D'Oro, too. (Die, Kahoko! Oops. ^^;; And Yunoki Azuma just creeps me out. XD But I love their uniforms—General Ed _and_ the Music Department. ^^ And Seiso.) But I'm not too fond of the show because I harbor a general dislike towards harem and reverse harem anime. Kahoko's such an oblivious man magnet. Mrgh. x_x

And you're right—I _did_ make You-Know-Who play the violin simply for the instrumental of _Nightmare_. But there's a catch in this chapter. Please read on to find out! ^-^

**Yuki-chan**... err, **-**_**san**_ (Double honorific. Strange. O.O): I highly doubt you would ever read this, because your review gave me the impression that you would never click on Chapter 2 onwards anymore. I don't mind. I don't hold it against you. And I understand your point entirely.

If you had only read further, in Chapter 4 I explained to several of my reviewers that I sprinkle Japanese words liberally throughout this fanfic for a reason: To make all of us appreciate the original—the Japanese—version of YYH. You see, the scriptwriters of FUNimation played around with the YYH dialogues so much that the original "aura" or "feel" of the characters got lost in the (brilliantly witty, but rather inexact) translation. By incorporating Japanese in this fic, I wanted to expose all of you to the words that the characters actually said in the original dub. And somehow, to their native culture as well.

But if that only turned you away, then all right. No hard feelings. Live and let live. I'll keep writing this fanfic to its end, and you go on your way. (Oh, but please make up your mind as to whether or not you actually find my fanfic, in your own word, "interesting." Your review gave me mixed—no, diametrically opposed!—signals. Still, thank you for taking the time to post it all the same.)

**DiesIrae773-**_**san**_: Thank you for finally reviewing my fanfic! I noticed you added it some time ago—I've always wanted to hear from readers like you. ^-^ After reading the not-so-positive review posted right before yours, I must say you made me smile. Thank you for that! It's nice to know that I must be doing something right. ^^ I hope you tell me what you think of this chapter, too!

**rain chant-**_**san**_: Hi! Nice to hear from you again! Thank you for believing in me even when I don't. ^-^ I'm glad you liked my portrayal of their creepy song—that was the only way I could write it, considering I know nothing about playing the violin…! XD I can't wait for all of you to figure out this mystery, too! *throws you another chapter*

And **Lykopis08-**_**san**_: Thank you for the compliment! X3 But you know, I suck at my native language. I'm much more comfortable with English. XD I _will_ continue this fanfic—I plan to update this every week from now on. It will be difficult, though, because my chapters are rather long… and I am tired of being my own beta editor. O.O You are most welcome! Thank you, too, for reviewing! Please do so again for this chapter!

All of you have read it before, but I'll type it all the same…  
**Happy reading!**

* * *

_On a cold, starry summer night…_

It lost its family.

A little wet nose nudged thick, dark fur. She was still warm. Her teats still dripped of milk.

The pup cuddled closer to its stiff, frozen mother, rubbing its face against her lush brown coat. It snuffled and sniffed her irreplaceable scent, refusing to take a whiff of the stale blood and rotting flesh befouling the cold night air.

But they soon had to part.

The cub stroked a furry cheek against its mother's slashed neck one last time before rising to its mud-spattered paws and howling to the gibbous moon.

… _I gazed upon the sky._

Noctilucent canine eyes basked in the moonlight—young, precious orbs newly stripped of their innocence.

"The sky."

A small furred neck stretched out. Beady, beastly eyes lost themselves in the moment.

_It stretched into forever… _

Colorless, weightless human feet treaded upon bloody, muddy leaves. Frail, unpainted toes peeked from under a deep, dark red robe.

"So vast," breathed the creature standing on two legs, its airy, ghostly voice neither male nor female. Surreal. Unreal. "Where does this bed of stars end?"

… _And had no end in sight._

"We pale in comparison. We're just so…"

The pup blinked slowly and hung its head low, as if listening with wisdom.

"… Small."

Dark, heavy clouds clustered together, promising a shower of rain. Suddenly they violently crashed into each other, and a rolling and crackling rumble roared through the night.

_Then the loud roar of thunder…_

"And it's cruel, this sky. It _knows_ it's superior to us."

… _shook the very ground where I lay._

It also startled the young mammal.

On all fours, the distressed little cub broke into a gallop towards the nearest tree—tall and strong, its bark jagged and chipped from the weather and wear of centuries long gone. The pup bared and sank its claws onto the tough bark, nicking off several flakes of wood in its vain attempt to seek refuge in a lofty branch.

"It even rubs it in… by laughing so hard, it cries."

Pale porcelain hands inched closer to the frightened beast.

"But it can't laugh at us now."

Gentle, bony fingers tenderly curled around the cub's torso and tugged the animal away.

The infant soon learned that that deep, dark red robe was warm—warmer than its mother. No. The ashen body beneath that robe was even warmer.

"Thank you for trusting me."

The pup neither struggled nor squirmed. In a near-human display of trust, it freely allowed those long human sleeves to envelop it in a tight—yet safe—embrace. The contented animal nuzzled its face against a warm-blooded chest and sleepily closed its eyes.

A serene smile curled shy, thin lips.

"Let's go home."

**7: The Male After All  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **Tutoring / Torturing Shuuichi**

"Makoto… Matsudaira… Matsuri…"

Plump but practiced fingers leafed through folder after file folder.

"… Mayonaka… Mikasa… Minamino…"

The green ogre with three horns yanked the file cabinet drawer towards him, exposing even more folders for him to scan through. "Everything looks to be in order… Misato… Momiji… Mori…"

Suddenly something caught the monster's eye.

* * *

Disgruntled as usual, Saotome Jorge threw a dirty look at the two pink treats in his hands and muttered under his breath. "Someday I'm gonna tell Koenma-_sama_ I'm sick and tired of hiking _twenty miles_ and falling in line for _three_ _days_ just to buy him his stupid _sweet buns_! He could at least appreciate the lengths I go through for him, but _nooo_!"

Out of the blue, violently stampeding footsteps cut his lamentation short.

"_TAIHEN! TAIHEN DESU!_" hollered the three-horned green ogre, cutting through the corner of the palace corridor and skidding right into Jorge.

"W-WAH!" exclaimed the jostled blue ogre. The strawberry sweet buns flew out of his hands. "_Shimatta!_ Koenma-_sama_'s sweet buns!"

The one-horned blue ogre Jorge threw himself forward, landing on the polished marble floor of the _Reikai_ royal palace with a loud thud. The desserts that he had toiled for three days just to buy from outside the castle plopped safely onto his catching hands.

A most relieved Jorge clumsily scrambled to his feet and thrust himself towards the ogre who had almost wasted his great, painstaking efforts. "Hey! Do you know how many _days_ I devoted just for _these_?! You should be more careful!"

"_G-Gomen nasai_, Saotome-_san_!" The three-horned green ogre bowed repeatedly in apology. "_Demo, taihen desu!_ You must tell Koenma-_sama_ right away!"

"What is it?" blinked the curious, unsuspecting Jorge.

* * *

"KOENMA-_SAMA! TAIHEN! TAIHEN DESU!_"

"_Hn_?" The three of spades in his grubby little hand, the preschooler prince looked up from the deck of playing cards cluttering his office desk. "Jorge? You're back?"

A sudden powerful slam knocked the grand doors of Koenma's office right open. A panicky, panting blue ogre in a tiger-striped loincloth burst into the regal room.

"Jorge! You're back!" cried the royal baby. Shooting a frantic glance at his office desk-turned-poker table, the slacker shoved his playing cards off his tabletop, instantly produced his trusty stamp pad and seal from out of nowhere, and pretended to stamp a page—when in reality, he was vandalizing his own table.

"KOENMA-_SAMA_!" Overlooking his master's idiotic antics altogether, a breathless Jorge stooped and gripped his knees, gulping mouthfuls and a lungful of air. "TERRIBLE NEWS!"

"What is it?" blinked the curious, unsuspecting Koenma. "_Demo_! Before anything else!" He held out a stubby, demanding hand. "Where are the sweet buns I asked you to buy _three days ago_?!"

Still in a breathless huff, Jorge stood up to his mini master. "KOENMA-_SAMA_! THIS IS NO TIME TO EVEN _THINK_ OF EATING—"

An ominous shadow eclipsed the spoiled prince's face, a dangerous, lethal gleam in his eye. "Give. Me. My. SWEET BUNS!"

An exasperated growl escaping his throat, the royal assistant hurled the pair of steamed buns at his superior's face. "You want your sweet buns?! Here!"

The dessert rolls struck Koenma smack on the forehead, one right after the other.

"_Nandato?! _What did you do _that_ for?!" The displeased talking baby bounced off his desk and bonked the burly monster right on the head.

Two magically bandaged lumps later—one by the letters "Jr" and the other by a small pointy horn—a satisfied infant prince happily munched on a soft pink roll as his bumbling aide tried to catch and keep his undivided attention. "Koenma-_sama_! I just received a crisis report from an ogre in the Mortality Department!"

"The Mortality Department, huh?" repeated a now gravely serious Koenma, narrowing his eyes. "Send him in."

* * *

"World and first letter of the names you are in charge of," commanded a most unsmiling, humorless Koenma.

"_Ningenkai_, Koenma-_sama_. Letter M," responded the green ogre with heartfelt reverence, his head low and his bulky build bent on one knee. "It's about Mori Hibino, a _ningen_ from Japan."

"What about his file?"

"It's gone, sir."

A frown crossed the prince's babyish features. "Stolen?"

"No, Your Highness. His folder is still under my safekeeping. But his whole Life Report, sir, it's gone! It's just a blank page now! Its contents have been erased!"

"_Hn_." A silently deliberating Koenma turned to face his assistant. "Did the last batch of Recent Death Reports I stamped include a 'Mori Hibino'?"

The blue ogre pressed a finger against his chin in thought. "No, Koenma-_sama_. I don't remember a _ningen_ with that name in that pile."

"And no reaper has fetched and brought him in yet." Koenma's trademark blue pacifier jiggled in his mouth as he spoke. "If he's dead now, something's telling me we'll never get to meet him."

"What do you mean, Koenma-_sama_?"

"Something must have happened to him, and someone doesn't want us to know what it is."

"But who could it be?"

"Only three powerful beings are capable of erasing Life Reports without going through me or my father." His undersized arms folded before his chest, Koenma closed his eyes and nodded to himself. "One of them has been dead for years. But the other two…"

Nervous sweat trickling down their faces, the two ogres in the room gulped. "The other two…?"

But they heard no more.

The air in his office thick with unresolved tension, Koenma shot a serious sidelong glance at his imperial assistant. "Jorge. Bring me my hair steamer."

"You mean the one you use to change into your adult—"

"_Sono toori_."

The one-horned blue ogre gasped. "But Koenma-_sama_—!"

"_Ike!_"

Koenma's sudden somber conduct taking him aback, Jorge started backing away. "So it has come to this…" mumbled the paranoid assistant as he showed himself out the royal door. "This is bad…"

The ogre from the Mortality Department remained motionless, humbly genuflected before the very young prince.

Suddenly a mischievous, toothy grin spread across the baby's face.

"_Yatta!_ I'm going on two dates in one de-ey!" melodiously cheered a now delighted Koenma.

The three-horned green ogre face-faulted to the floor with a sweat-drop.

* * *

Soft, liquid brown eyes were intently gazing upon a full-length mirror and admiring their reflection when suddenly, the decaying body of a _ningen_ man materialized before them.

The entity gasped. "You—!" A long lavender gown twirled gracefully as its wearer whirled to face an invisible intruder in its underground palace chamber. "How did you—"

"Trying on yet another new look, _aneki_? That one seems especially familiar."

The mysterious unnamed creature tightened its fist and spoke against the wind. "You've never really understood or appreciated the concept of _fashion_, my unsophisticated little _imouto_. You've had the same boring look for eighteen mortal years."

"_Heh_." A mocking chortle echoed throughout the dark dungeon. "So what? Unlike you, I actually _like_ appearing to be the same person throughout my lifetime."

"Ah, but not for long, my silly _imouto_. You will age—quite disgracefully, if I may say so myself. I see it. In another mortal decade, yours will be the face of a _ningen_ twice your years. Time is unfair to you."

"Yeah, well, you had always been Father's favorite."

"For once, you make sense." A pitiless chuckle escaped thickly painted lips. "So, what brings you here? And with such a repulsive gift! A dead _ningen_, for crying out loud!"

"You should be ashamed of yourself," spat the ghost angrily. "You took away his humanity, used him for your own—"

"_Imouto, imouto, imouto._" The visible being batted its long, honey-laced lashes at the invisible speaker. "Anything I do will sound bad if you say it with _that_ attitude! He was already destined to die! I just… 'sped up his metabolism'."

A brutish grumble ricocheted to and from the walls of the castle chamber. "All of us are 'destined to die' someday, but that fact does _not_ give you any right to take anyone's life ahead of their time—"

A violet kimono shook as its wearer laughed hysterically. "What's this? Humanity has shortened your temper, _imouto_! Why is that? It certainly did not do the same to—"

"Leave him alone, _aneki_." Imaginary teeth gnashed together. "_Leave him alone._"

The creature before the mirror flashed a cold, crooked smile.

"But I can't. And certainly, neither can you."

A hostile hiss befouled the wispy _Reikai_ air.

"Stop manipulating _ningen_. It's selfish. That Mori was happily married with two healthy children. You just widowed an innocent housewife. And their second-born will never hear her father finish rereading _Cinderella_ to her. Never again."

"Awww," cooed the older enigmatic creature. "If you care so much, _imouto_, why don't you finish reading her bedtime story to her yourself? Oh, _that_'s right—you can't change form anymore! Soon you won't even be able to fly!"

"I need to neither change form nor fly to fulfill my responsibilities. We both know that."

"But you _are_ getting weaker, _imouto_. I see it. I wouldn't be surprised if _Ningenkai_ will fall apart anytime now!" A peal of rich laughter erupted from heavily painted lips. "And who are _you_ to call _me_ 'selfish'? Who between the two of us now dwells in an altogether different—"

"I refuse to subject myself to this."

And in the blink of a long-lashed brown eye, the invisible being was gone.

"Hmph. Foolish _imouto_! Once the toddler prince pays me a little visit, I'll tell him it was all you. I see it. You will suffer miserably."

Endless green eyes suddenly appeared in the mystical mirror.

"And so will he."

* * *

Heavy-lidded, bloodshot blue eyes shied away from the bathroom mirror.

_Great._ A sarcastic Setsu absently jammed her toothbrush into hard-to-reach cracks and crevices. _They might be able to tell that I lack sleep. On my first night here, too._

Bubbly toothpaste suds coating her tongue more and more with each motion, she jerked her toothbrush up and down furiously. _Several hours have passed, but nothing's melted so far._ She flashed a disturbing cross between a sneer and a scowl towards the mirror, double-checking each row of teeth from end to end. _Aa. All there. Still complete._

As she brushed away, roving eyes darting from the showerhead to the drain to the flowerpot on the windowsill, the bathroom mirror fogged up. A calm female hand was handling a faucet just when a tense male one rapidly rapped on the bathroom door repeatedly.

"_OI! ITOKO!_ Finish up in there already! I gotta pee!"

_Shuuichi._ A chuckle threatened to escape foamy lips._ Always in a hurry._

A purple toothbrush sticking out of her still-bubbling mouth, she flung the door wide open to behold two Shuuichis in their pajamas, the older one apparently in the middle of a brotherly lecture. "_Otouto_, let's give her some pri—"

The three blinked and shared a holy moment of awkward silence.

Suddenly an extremely provoked younger Shuuichi zipped through the door, exclaiming "How _big_ are your _teeth_?!" before angrily shutting it behind him.

Setsu took her toothbrush out of her frothing mouth and incoherently mumbled, "How _shmall_ ish your _bladder_?" before angrily trudging away, still scrubbing those questionably sized teeth.

Now alone in the second floor hallway, an entirely silenced Kurama sweat-dropped.

* * *

Once-poisoned eyelids fluttered. Once-poisoned eyes found themselves buried in a fluffy white bed and blinked. "_Koko wa…_"

A familiar alto drifted into Hiei's barely conscious ears. "What took you so long?"

The _jaganshi_ firmly planted his hands on the cushion, his arms trembling as he struggled to rise from Mukuro's bed. Without warning, his still-weakened elbows gave way, and he flopped down face-first onto the soft white padding.

"I can't tell how it feels about you." An intoxicated Mukuro chuckled, imposing a most regal presence just sitting next to him with her legs crossed. She set a now empty wine glass onto her side table. "It must hate you because it brought you back to me. But it must like you because it brought you back to me alive."

"You—" grumbled a merciless baritone muffled by a soft, fluffy cushion. With painstaking, painful effort, Hiei turned his head to the side, both to look Mukuro in the eye and free his face of her bed. "—really love to hear yourself talk."

A now silent Mukuro poured herself another glass from the large bottle on her side table.

"Well, I don't."

The disfigured demon swirled the dark liquid in her goblet, raised the rim to her lips, and drank the lot in one go. A drop trickled from her lips and dripped off her chin. "Sleep, Hiei. I won't stop you."

"That's not why I want you to be quiet."

With all his might, Hiei attempted to hoist himself out of bed again. He managed to stand upright, but the dark _Makai_ chamber seemed to move under his feet. A thick film of who-knows-what inconveniently clouded his eyes.

"The poison hasn't worn off."

"_I'll_ be the judge of that."

But he had no more time to judge.

In a split second, the fire demon lost his eyesight, his footing, and his consciousness all at once. Without a word in edgewise, the fallen warrior collapsed into the woman's arms.

Mukuro's better eye glared down menacingly at the man whose war-torn and worn face now lay still upon her bosom.

"Hiei."

Finally satisfying his demand for her silence, she closed her eyes and slid a strong yet soothing arm across a muscular back, drawing that pitiful, poisoned body closer to her own.

* * *

"Actually, '_Ba-san_ adds little cubes of ham to her version of the Spanish omelet that we know." The receiver of the Minamino landline telephone crammed between an ear and a shoulder, a chatty Setsu kneaded a bath towel onto her scalp with both hands. "Egg, cheese… Mozzarella, just like ours… Not sure, though… _Aa_, I'll ask her… Tomato, onion, green pepper, bell pepper, mushroom… The X factor is the ham… I couldn't get enough… _Nani?_ I am _not_ ten pounds heavier than yesterday… Is that even possible?"

Unintentionally overhearing the talkative houseguest even from within Shuuichi's bedroom, a newly bathed Kurama stepped out the door, sporting a form-fitting plain white T-shirt, tight denim jeans, and sneakers. Just as the fresh-smelling young man stepped out of the staircase and into the first floor living room, a sudden sneeze caught his attention.

Green eyes widened. _Okashii. She sneezed in the dream as well._

By the telephone, he caught sight of a long bath towel draped over an enormous light blue shirt. Their softly sniffling wearer sneezed again.

"_Mengo_… I didn't mean for you to hear that… Amplified by the telephone, too… _Iie_, I didn't catch a cold yesterday… Something around here just smells strongly of roses."

_Sorry._ Kurama sweat-dropped.

The towel-wrapped head turned to face the window. "Maybe I could smell their garden from here… _Hai_, Shiori-_'ba-san_ grows an entire bush of them… I know… I won't go near…"

_So she really _is_ allergic to…_ Kurama closed his eyes, folded his arms before his chest, and cupped his chin in thought. _But I didn't know that before… How did I…?_

Dark suspicions plaguing his mind yet again, he eyed his family houseguest from head to toe. Something about her did not seem right.

He laid his eyes on her feet and sweat-dropped again. _Does she know she has only one slipper on?_

"… '_Ba-san_ and _Sempai_ have been more than hospitable. _Itoko_, on the contrary, is his usual annoying self," laughed Setsu into the phone. Distant blue eyes glanced distractedly around the house and widened upon sighting Kurama. Setsu instantly tugged the bath towel off her hair, baring a tousled, uncombed wet mess.

He sweat-dropped yet again. _Just what is with this _ningen_?_

In his two decades of human existence, never had he seen—much less lived under the same roof with—a female _ningen_ so unglamorous, so… sloppy. After all, Minamino Shiori was a most elegant, refined woman. She never let him catch her towel-drying herself, for one.

"… _Iie_, I didn't… But they didn't make me… '_Ba-san_ insisted that I act like an actual guest… No chores, at least for the meantime… All right, I'll wash the dishes after our next meal… Hey, I folded _Sempai_'s sheets when I woke up… You know, his room has a carpet… It's almost royal… I haven't spilled on it, and I have no intention to…"

_No. I must remain on my guard._ A fist clenched in secret. _I still want my questions answered. But when?_

A pair of sporty rubber shoes strode closer, every skid of their soles on the polished marble floor emitting a shrill, ear-piercing squeak. "Is she _still_ on the phone?"

Kurama unclenched his fist and dismissed his suspicions for the meantime. _Not now._

Still misty-eyed and yawning, an approaching Hatanaka Shuuichi slipped into a loose-fitting black T-shirt with a gothic print of an electric guitar engulfed in metallic silver flames. "Who's she talking to, anyway? Her boyfriend?"

A now smiling Kurama turned to his stepbrother. "From the way she sounds, it must be her father."

"… _Hai, hai…_ I know… I'll call you again tomorrow… Don't forget to add _goya_ to your omelet… Your diabetes, mind you… It's for your own good… No excuses… Fine… Uh, I've used their phone for too long already… _Aa… Un_…_ Ja_."

Setsu clicked the receiver onto its rightful hinge carefully, conscientiously. "_Arigatou, 'Ba-san_," she called out to the woman watering plants outside the window, then turned to the two Shuuichis. "_Hn_. For two boys, you sure are nosy." A wary, knowing eyebrow shot up. "Both of you."

"But I didn't get it!"

"_Gomen_. Your father is quite hard on you, Mayonaka-_san_."

"So you noticed," Setsu casually slung her towel over her shoulder. "But I'm just as hard on him."

Shuuichi snickered to himself. "No, _itoko_, you're a heartless dictator—"

Without warning, a recently used, still-dripping towel thwacked him right on the cheek.

Once again, Kurama sweat-dropped.

* * *

The Minamino house phone was in use again.

"_Hontou?_ The results are out? _Hn_… I'll tell him when I see him… Have to go, Nami-_chan_… Don't want smoke coming out of the phone, _ne_? Besides, it's only been one night… Well, it could happen… And I don't want to stick around to find out… Call you again tomorrow… _Iie_… Don't push it."

For the second time that morning, Setsu put the phone down.

"_Itoko!_" erupted a timely cry from the living room sofa.

"_Hai_, _hai_. Keep your pants on," Setsu muttered to herself, shaking her head as she followed the loud voice. "For all our sakes."

"You now owe me an apology for _two_ things!" His right cheek redder than his left, the Shuuichi sprawled on the couch pouted childishly. "For _this_—" he pointed to the unnaturally rosy side of his face. "—and for making me believe you have Guitar Hero! Now I can't get it out of my head!"

"Well, you should have known that I can't possibly have any of those newfangled videogames." She wilted onto the couch, accidentally knocking knees with the pouting boy beside her. She clicked her tongue thrice in disapproval of his current sitting position—his legs wide apart—and shoved his knee aside playfully. "I can't afford them. I can't even afford to buy their consoles."

"You _poor_ girl," taunted Shuuichi more affectionately than maliciously, splaying his legs farther apart to occupy even more space just to annoy her. "But now I'm _really_ in the mood to play! I don't even care if it's not Guitar Hero! Wanna hit the game center?"

"Don't you have summer classes today?"

He shook his head. "They gave us today off for that diagnostic in Physics tomorrow. They said anyone who aces it won't have to take Physics class all summer anymore. Sounds tempting, but it sucks!" A disgruntled Shuuichi threw his hands up in the air. "Taking an exam during the summer! What could be worse than that?"

"Failing it," Kurama pointed out, emerging from the stairs. He plopped a hardbound textbook right into Shuuichi's coincidentally outstretched hands.

"Remember, _itoko_, your exam failures in _regular_ classes are why you're taking _summer_ classes in the first place."

The summer school student sighed at the bulky Physics book in his hands, its sheer thickness intimidating and disheartening him beyond words. "But why should I even bother? As…" He even paused to think, but still ended up sounding sarcastic. "… _helpful_… as this book looks, what I don't get about Physics is where I can find its concepts in real life. Sure, I could write down those three Laws of Motion word for word, but ask me to give real-life examples of them and I'm toast."

Suddenly, Setsu's face brightened. She pounded her fist onto her palm. "Minamino-_sempai._"

Quietly sitting on a dining chair with one leg crossed over the other, Kurama looked up from the pocketbook that he was reading. "_Hai_."

"Could we play in the game center after all?"

Kurama eyed her squarely. _You have a plan, don't you?_

Mischievous blue orbs twinkled _But of course_ without even saying a word. "And _you_'re free today too, _ne_?"

_What exactly are you up to? _"Uh… _Un._"

"Then come with us, _onegai_."

_To think I must allow it even before I know what it is…_

Sighing to himself, Kurama rose from the dining chair and pushed it back towards the table. "Do not get used to this, Shuuichi."

… _You always keep me guessing_.

His shimmering eyes smiling just as ecstatically as his lips, an excited, hyperactive Shuuichi bolted from the couch all the way to the front door. "_YATTA!_ LET'S GO!"

"But you have to promise me you will study for your test."

"Don't worry," Setsu rose from the sofa as well, a meaningful grin curling her lips. "He will."

* * *

She was already plodding past the doorway towards a wildly waving Shuuichi when Kurama clapped a restraining hand on her shoulder. "Mayonaka-_san_."

"_Hn_?" Setsu whirled to find her cousin's older stepbrother staring fixedly at the floor by their feet. Her eyes followed his and widened.

"Oh." Shamefully twitching knuckles violently clobbered a shamefully rosy forehead. "You go on ahead, _Sempai_. I'll catch up."

A tangled web of hair hiding her eyes, an awkwardly silent _chibi_ Setsu scrambled away to complete her footwear.

A rippling wave of hair hiding his eyes, an awkwardly silent _chibi_ Kurama sweat-dropped.

* * *

"What a good idea!" A now even more ecstatic Shuuichi stepped out of the parlor, eagerly running his tongue along the double fudge chocolate ice cream smeared all over his lips. "It _is_ getting kinda hot out here… And it's still a long walk to the game center!"

Setsu glanced up at the little golden bell that chimed on her way out of the local ice cream shop. "Oh, but that's not why I thought of this."

His nose still buried in his pocketbook, Kurama shielded his eyes from the high noonday sun as he closely followed behind two younger teenagers talking over ice cream. Suddenly the girl caught his eye. Again, something about her did not seem right.

Green eyes settled on the paper cup in her grip. The cardboard cup contained a swirling, creamy white heap, but the plastic spoon that came—that _should_ come—with the frozen dessert package was nowhere to be found.

"Mayonaka-_san_, didn't they give you—"

"A spoon?" finished Setsu, jamming her free hand into the back pocket of her jeans and retrieving a stainless steel spoon that she had apparently brought with her from the house. "They didn't have to."

Shuuichi licked a chunky drop of chocolate dripping down his sugar cone. "And here I was thinking you'd either lap it up like a dog or eat it with your bare hands."

"Mock me now, Hatanaka Shuuichi." She held the spoon up, the metallic utensil glinting from the rays of the summer afternoon sun. "I'm about to show you something cool."

The younger boy bit a brownie crumb off his gradually melting dessert. "If that's just a pathetic pun on ice cream—"

"Have you ever seen your own reflection on a spoon?"

"_Eh?_"

Even Kurama looked up from his reading material. _Is this part of your plan…?_

"Look, _itoko_." She leveled the spoon with Shuuichi's light blue eyes. "You can see yourself from both surfaces."

With his free hand, Shuuichi took the spoon from her and neared it to himself. "You're right!" He cheerfully waved his cone-holding hand in the air, testing whether the reflection on the back of the spoon would follow his every move. "Hello, spoon-sized me! Hello!"

A quietly amused Kurama and Setsu exchanged secret glances and grins, shameless chuckles threatening to escape both their upturned lips.

His attention now entirely diverted from his pocketbook, Kurama stashed it away. "It gets even better, _otouto._ Turn it."

A thoroughly amazed Shuuichi did as he was told and gasped. "Now I'm upside down! Why?"

Setsu pointed to the inside bowl—the depressed, sunken side—of the metal spoon. "Because _that_ face of the spoon is acting as a _concave_ mirror, whereas its back is _convex_."

"Wait… I've heard those terms before… From a discussion on Optics…" Shuuichi absentmindedly muttered to himself. All of a sudden, a cataclysmic realization dawned upon him. "In _Physics_ class!"

"Exactly." Shy, thin lips curled in a silent, private victory. "Now you know at least one real-life example of concave and convex surfaces."

_It all makes sense now,_ mused Kurama._ A plastic spoon from the shop would not have served her purpose._

_She planned our pit stop right from the beginning._

"But I still don't get why I'm upside down on a…" The boy hesitated for a split second, unsure of himself. He darted glances from his _'Nii-san_, who silently smiled in encouragement, to his _itoko_, who silently mouthed a two-syllable word that seemed to end with the letter V. "… A… a _concave_ surface, and not on a convex one."

"That is because your head is too big for the concave mirror to handle," Setsu pointed out with a laugh.

"Stop messing around, _itoko_! What's the _real_ explanation?"

"I'm afraid she's right," volunteered Kurama. "All mirrors have what is called a 'focal length.' When an object is beyond the focal length of a mirror, the image is reduced in size and inverted. _Dakara_, the size of your reflection must be greater than the focal length of the concave mirror, but not that of the convex."

"Told you the concave mirror couldn't handle your giant head."

Shuuichi whirled to glare at his taunting cousin. "Come _on_! It's a _really small_ mirror!"

"Relax, _itoko_." Setsu prodded Shuuichi to position the concave surface of the spoon even closer to his eyes. "If you insist on fitting inside that teeny, tiny focal point, then just bring yourself inside it."

"How do I do _that_?"

"Go so close to the spoon that it would touch your nose."

"Does that really work?" mumbled a curious Shuuichi, obeying the somewhat harebrained yet seemingly harmless order.

"_Un_. It's a surefire way to trick one into crossing one's eyes, too. It sure worked on you just now."

Now more irked than ever, Shuuichi playfully lunged towards his cousin. "You know what? This spoon would look better dangling from _your_ nose!"

Just as he was about to sic the dining utensil on her, she snatched it from his clutches. "_Iie._ Let's keep this as sanitary as possible." She suddenly handed the unused spoon and her cup of uneaten ice cream to Kurama. "For Minamino-_sempai_."

_Nani? _Kurama blinked. _What random thought is she…?_ "But I—"

"Deserve this. For backing me up," she finished for him again. "And I believe it's not right that you bought for us, but not for yourself." Dimples shyly revealed themselves on the corners of her lips. "Besides, I prefer spicy soup over cold sweets any day—even now that it's summer. So," she left the cardboard cup cradled in Kurama's palm. "Here you go. I hope you don't mind vanilla."

A silent Kurama gazed at the cup in his hand, lost in thought.

_Still the same, this_ ningen.

"Go ahead, _'Nii-san_! _Itoko_ would only eat ice cream in _wasabi_ and hot sauce flavors!"

A suddenly dangerous, unsmiling Setsu jammed her hand into her pants pocket again, this time retrieving a stainless steel fork.

"I _knew_ I had to bring _this_, too."

Four sharp, shiny fork tines pointed straight at the boy.

"_Eeeeeh?!_" The human target reeled back, nervous sweat dribbling from his face. "As if bringing a spoon wasn't weird enough!"

A _chibi_ Shuuichi scrambled away just as a _chibi_ Setsu tore after him, wielding a small yet terrible weapon of not-so-mass destruction.

A _chibi_ Kurama calmly popped a spoonful of cold, refreshing vanilla ice cream in his mouth, if only to rehydrate himself from all his sweat-dropping.

* * *

With a most realistic battle cry, Shuuichi cocked and pulled the trigger. Blood sprayed out of the forehead of a hideous, putrefied zombie on the screen. "YEAH!" He pumped a fist into the air. "GOT 'IM!"

His arms folded across his chest, a concerned Kurama glanced at his wristwatch. "_Otouto_, I know you're having fun, but what time will you start studying?"

"Later, '_Nii-san_!" cried the distracted virtual assassin as he fired bullet after imaginary bullet onto the videogame monitor. "I'm winning!"

Setsu returned from the token counter with ten more playing tokens and a small white receipt in her hand. "More tokens, Shuuichi," she chimed unusually melodiously, crumpling the white piece of paper. "My treat this time. I couldn't afford more, though. _Mengo._"

_Is this still part of your plan? But the more he plays, the less time he has to study._ "Mayonaka-_san_, Shuuichi should—"

"That was a _good_ game!" A pumped-up Shuuichi exclaimed loudly, rotating his shoulders and arms to warm himself up for his next mission. "I just wish I knew what the physics in that was."

Before the boy could slot the toy gun back into its makeshift holster, Setsu took the firearm from him. "May I?"

"Are you gonna play?"

"What was Isaac Newton's First Law of Motion again?"

"_Eeeeeh?!_" Shuuichi's eyes widened—at first from the ill-timed question, then from the sight of his cousin aiming the revolver replica right in between his eyes. "Are you serious?! Now?!"

"I just loaded this. An actual bullet is now within the barrel of this gun. If you answer either incorrectly or nothing at all, then I _will_ shoot."

"_N-Nani?!_ But I don't even know what you loaded it with!" A startled Shuuichi stammered. He stared at the blindingly lit ceiling of the local gaming arcade, dredging up the words in his memory. "Simply put, 'An object at rest remains at rest—and an object in motion remains in motion—unless acted upon by an external force.' There! Don't shoot me!"

"Relax, _itoko_. I won't shoot you just yet." Her tone was scientifically suggestive. "As long as I never pull this trigger, the bullet will never even move."

"Are you saying the bullet is 'an object at rest,' and pulling the trigger is a… an 'external force'?"

"Exactly."

"But a bullet doesn't 'rest,' _itoko_! It doesn't even get tired!"

Yet again, Kurama sweat-dropped. Setsu massaged her temple with her unarmed hand.

"_Itoko_, don't let the words 'at rest' confuse you. That expression simply means that something is stationary."

"Stationery?"

"Oh, no. Don't even _think_ of decorative paper." A finger threatened to cock the trigger. "An object 'at rest' is something that's _not moving_ from its exact location at that particular time."

_So _this_ is why she wanted us to come here._ Kurama smiled secretly. _Quite a hands-on approach._

_Hands-on-a-gun._

* * *

The red dot on his forehead was glaringly attention-grabbing.

"Why did you have to hit me with _this_???" Between his pointer and thumb, Shuuichi gripped a crumpled white ball of paper that was once a token purchase receipt. "I got everything right so far, didn't I? You said you'd shoot only if I answer wrong!"

"Well, the resistance of your forehead 'acted upon' the piece of paper 'in motion'," Setsu chuckled to herself. "When the 'bullet' came into contact with your face, it changed direction and speed. So the material property of _hardness_ intrinsic to your head served as a good 'external force'."

"Okay, I get it! Stop using me as a human example of 'external force'!"

"Besides, you deserved that shot," grinned a naughty Setsu. "Your wording of Newton's First Law was incomplete. You should have said: 'And an object in motion remains in motion _at the same speed and direction_… unless blocked or deflected by Hatanaka Shuuichi's really hard head'."

"Hey! That's obviously _not_ how it goes!"

"I know. And I know that you know. So when you're taking your test tomorrow and you encounter a question on the First Law, just remember why I pelted your head."

Kurama sweat-dropped once more. _Well, at least he's actually learning. _

* * *

"Lightning round—Third Law this time," Setsu spat quickly. "What were the 'equal and opposite' action and reaction in the shooting game that you played earlier?"

Whack.

"Action: I pulled the gun's trigger. Reaction: The bullet shot out of the gun."

Whack, whack.

"Very good." _Whack._ "That punching game?"

"Action: I punched the punching bag. Reaction: It punched me back."

Whack, whack, whack, whack. Whack.

"Correct, but your teacher might not appreciate your sense of humor. Keep your answers objective, _onegai_." _Whack!_ "Last question. The game you're playing right now?"

_WHACK!_

"_Itoko_, I still can't forgive you for forcing me to play this… this… utterly _embarrassing kiddy game_!"

"Just answer."

"Action: I—" The buzzer went off, and the words YOU LOSE in blaring red blinked repeatedly on the LCD screen. "—didn't hit the moles fast enough. Reaction: I lost."

"That wasn't my point in making you play Whack-a-Mole—"

Shuuichi was already raising the springy toy hammer high above his head—dead set on whacking the most annoying mole in the arcade—when Kurama stepped in between them. "Mayonaka-_san_, I think he got the point. Let's just move on to the next game."

"Please!" A tomato-faced Shuuichi begged. "_Anything_'s less embarrassing than _this_!"

* * *

With a synchronized flick of the wrists and jerk of the leg, a tense Shuuichi turned the steering wheel and stepped on the accelerator, kicking the videogame racecar into high gear. "The finish line! I'm almost theeeeeeere!"

Setsu pointed at the digits flashing on the upper right-hand corner of the game screen. "Hey, you're about to beat the champion's record."

"But this car's not going fast enough!" hollered a Shuuichi straining to reach the make-believe finish line under record time. "This is already its fastest speed!"

A licensed real-life car driver himself, Kurama crossed his arms before his chest and cupped his chin, analyzing the mock racetrack in the game display. "The track has many sharp corners. If you want to increase your speed, Shuuichi, you could cut those corners to save on time."

"How do I do _that_?"

The elder Shuuichi leaned closer to the mock driver's seat of the virtual racing car. "When you turn the next corner, go in from the inner lane," he pointed and gestured as he spoke. "You will cover a longer distance in less time."

_Hn_. Someone _is competitive all of a sudden._ A pleasantly surprised Setsu blinked and smiled to herself.

Amused cerulean orbs softly gazed upon dangerously calm, aggressive eyes too relentlessly focused to look away from their present stimulus… thin, taut lips… a strong jaw… an unseen but undeniably felt aura of toughness… of masculinity.

_Since when has Minamino-_sempai_ been so…_

She knocked on one of her temples, physically condemning herself for what her mind's voice was about to confess.

… _male?_

* * *

His cram coaches were still discussing the definitional differences between the terms _rate_, _speed_, and _velocity_ when a dazed Shuuichi wobbled out of the racecar driver's seat, his knees as squishy as jelly.

"_Itoko. 'Nii-san_. I appreciate what both of you are trying to do. Really. But I came here to take a break, and now I need a break from my break!" He sighed. "If speed is the last thing on your list, I'll be fine. That's real easy to find in real life."

"You have a point, Shuuichi," Kurama turned to his brother, pleased with the boy's changed attitude towards the very discipline that intimidated him a mere hour or so ago. "All objects in motion have their respective rates of movement."

"Heck, even objects that aren't moving have their own speed."

"They do??? What?"

"Zero miles per hour, of course," grinned Setsu.

A chuckle escaped Shuuichi's lips. "You're right! I didn't think of that! Even really, really, _really_ slow things still have speeds!" His gaze dropped to his hands. "Like how slow our fingernails grow."

"In meters per second, ten raised to the negative ninth power."

Both Setsu and Shuuichi suddenly gawked at Kurama with wide, bewildered blue eyes.

"_That_'s the speed of human fingernail growth?"

"_Hai_."

"_Hn_. I don't suppose you also know the rates of other bodily processes, _ne_?"

"Nerve impulses travel between the brain and spinal cord at a rate of three point six kilometers per hour. One meter per second, more or less."

"Whoa." Shuuichi's eyes nearly popped out their sockets. "Wait, I got one! How fast do sperm cells swim around?"

A suddenly beet red face vanishing beneath sandy brown hair, a low but nonetheless female voice snapped, "_Itoko_, this is neither the time nor place to engage in discourse of _that_ nature."

"Mayonaka-_san_'s right—"

"But if you do know, then go ahead, _onegai_." Shy, shameful lips chuckled guiltily. "I'm actually curious myself."

The biology expert fell silent, reluctant to go on.

"Well?"

He sighed. "Zero point zero-zero-zero-one meter per second—ten to the negative fourth power. But that is their speed inside the male body. They are faster in—"

"Okaaaaay." A visibly uncomfortable Setsu seized both Shuuichis by their shirt sleeves and shepherded them away from two scantily clad girls now lustfully eyeing Kurama from the side. "That's more than I needed to know about _ningen_ born with the XY chromosome in one day."

As she distanced her family from their unwanted, eavesdropping audience, she shot the squealing, swooning ladies a sidelong glare. _To be turned on by scientific statistics… _

_Perverts._

* * *

"Hatanaka!"

Shuuichi whirled behind him and found three boys from his regular classes huddled around a martial arts role-playing game for two players. "_Oi!_"

The boy turned to face his elders, seeking their permission with nothing more than pleading eyes. His female cousin simply tilted her head in the direction of his stepbrother. The oldest of the trio took charge. "But you will still review your lessons when we get home."

"Thanks, _'Nii-san_!" Shuuichi beamed widely and dashed towards his classmates.

Kurama and Setsu quietly watched their mutual relative blissfully mingling with his peers. Without even looking at each other, they smiled at the same time.

"You had his test in mind all along."

"He has better recall when doing things instead of reading them. _Ne_, it's free now."

_She's still so random._ "_Nani?_"

Curious green eyes followed determined blue. A teenage boy had just vacated a three-legged stool by the drum set.

"He finally finished playing."

_She plays_ this_? What about the…?_ "Mayonaka-_san_, how long have you been playing the drums?"

"Shuuichi-_itoko_ and I took drum lessons together about four years ago." She seated herself on the stool comfortably. Her legs apart, she planted one foot on the pedal of the bass drum. "But he quit early. The drums bored him. He wanted to master a 'more exciting' musical instrument."

"_Aa_. He is now learning how to play the electric guitar." _Finally, an opening!_ "What other instruments do you play?"

_If she says "violin"… _

"Just the drums."

Her unexpected response took him aback. Green eyes widened. _Nani? But…_

"I'm not that musically inclined," Setsu inserted a playing token inside the machine. "My voice cracks easily, so I don't make a habit of singing. And I don't believe that I could ever play a stringed instrument well, either. I tried playing a violin once, but—"

_A violin! But…?_

"—it broke."

The drumsticks in her grip, she casually pushed the game control buttons with her closed fist, choosing a song from the seemingly endless playlist on the blindingly multicolored screen. "Just a slow beat," she mumbled absently to herself. "I must have gotten rusty by now."

A frown crossed Kurama's face. _Was it just a nightmare after all…?_

Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a familiar freckled young boy in a hooded, light blue shirt and dark blue shorts confidently strutting into the videogame center. Kurama bit back a gasp.

_Amanuma._

**Continued  
****THANK YOU so much for reading up to this point!  
Please REVIEW so that I'd know how to make the next chapters better!  
**  
From a bloodstained, gory songfic to _this_ crack… I'm trying my hand at everything. ^-^

So… Yeah. Hiei x Mukuro. O.O I think that's as "fluffy" as they could ever get. XD

And exactly how many times did Kurama sweat-drop in this chapter??? XDD

**Japanese to English translations and abridged YYH glossary**

_**aa**_ and _**un**_. Slang for _yes_ and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
_**aneki**_. A crude, vulgar address for one's own _older sister_, typically used by male gangsters  
_**arigatou**__. Thank you,_ less formal than _arigatou gozaimasu  
_'_**ba-san**_. A contraction of _Oba-san_, a respectful address for one's own _aunt_  
_**-**__**chan**_. An honorific used to address _girls_, _animals_, or anything that the speaker considers to be cute  
_**chibi**_. Literally meaning _small / little _(in size), refers to a Japanese animation style wherein characters are drawn or portrayed with oversized heads and undersized bodies to add a comic relief effect to the current scene  
_**dakara**_. _So / therefore_  
_**demo**__. But  
__**desu**_. Used in this chapter to mean _there is_; a be verb of the Japanese language, the meaning of which differs according to context  
_**eh**_ and _**hn**_. Disfluencies of speech (much like the English _uh _and _um_), not limited to the Japanese language  
_**gomen**__. Sorry,_ less formal than _gomen nasai  
__**goya**_. _Balsam pear / bitter gourd / bitter melon_ (For more information, refer to Chapter 2)  
_**hai**_. _Yes  
__**heh**_. An expression of casual indifference, much like a shrug  
_**Hiei**_. _Flying shadow_, used as a name in this fic  
_**hontou**__. Really / is that true  
__**iie **_and _**iiya**__. _Formal and informal _no_, respectively  
_**ike**_. _Go_  
_**imouto**_. _Little sister / younger sister  
__**itoko**_. _Cousin  
__**ja**_. _Bye  
__**jaganshi**_. Master of the _jagan _(third eye)  
_**Koenma**_. _Little Enma / child of Enma_, used as a name in this fic  
_**koko wa**_. Roughly translated to _this (place) is_, refers to a location or place that the speaker is currently in; but the exact translation of _koko_ is _here_, so _koko wa_ is more accurately translated as _here is…_ (To be more grammatically correct in English, _I am here in…_)  
_**Makai**_. _Demon World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**mayonaka**__. Midnight_, used as a name in this fic  
_**mengo**__. _Not an actual Japanese word; Mayonaka Setsuki's version of _sorry  
__**Minamino**__. Southern field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Mukuro**_. _Corpse_, used as a name in this fic  
_**nami**_. _Wave_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**nandato**_. An informal, usually exclamatory, way of saying _what did you just do / say_; the informality is emphasized by the contraction of _nani_ (_what_) into _nan_  
_**nani**__. What / what is it  
__**ne**__. _An expression for seeking confirmation, much like the English tag questions _isn't it _or _okay_  
'_**nii-san**__. _A contraction of _Onii-san_, a respectful address for one's own _older brother  
__**ningen**__. Human / human being  
__**Ningenkai**__. Human World_ (as opposed to the Demon World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**oi**__. _An expression similar to the English _hey_, not limited to the Japanese language  
_**okashii**_. _Strange_  
_**onegai**__. Please_, less formal than _onegaishimasu  
__**otouto**__. Little brother / younger brother  
__**Reikai**_. _Spirit World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Demon World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**-sama**__. _An honorific used to address someone very respectfully, like _lord _or _master_  
**-**_**san**__. _An honorific used to address someone politely  
**-**_**sempai**__. _An honorific used to address an upperclassman  
_**setsu**_. _Opinion_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**shimatta**_. _Shit  
__**Shuuichi**__. Excellence first_, used as a name in this fic  
_**sono toori**_. _That (is) exactly (what I mean / what I am referring to)_; _sono_ is translated as _that_  
_**taihen**_. _Trouble  
__**tonikaku**_. _Anyway_, or other such words of transition  
_**yatta**_. An outcry expressing success or great pleasure, much like the English _yay_, _yahoo_, or _woo hoo_

Yet again, if I missed anything that you need translating or explaining, just say so in the Reviews page. **Please review! Thank you! ^-^**


	8. The Guilty

**A/N  
**Whew! I think I still posted this new chapter on the date that I said I will—it still _is_ the 20th of March 2010 in several time zones around the world. XD But I must admit, the sheer length of the chapters of this fanfic is taking its toll on me. These chapters are really long!

And yes, I know—I packed on the Physics in Chapter 7. Please, let me explain why.  
Remember that Kurama spotted Amanuma at the end of the chapter? By that, I was hinting at an imminent confrontation between the two former foes. But you know, that encounter was _supposed_ to have happened in Chapter 7—**not** this chapter.  
But the unraveling of the Mori Hibino mystery consumed so many pages of Chapter 7 that I eventually decided against writing the Kurama-Amanuma faceoff in the same chapter. So all those Physics that you read… Yes, they were filler.  
What you are now about to read was **not** the actual Chapter 8 that I originally intended, but the somewhat "lost" second half of Chapter 7. But with new material, of course. ^-^

* * *

Chapter 8 is dedicated to the following reader-reviewers:

**Kaori Minamino-**_**san**_: Thank you for reviewing Chapter 6 even when I had already posted 7! I just _love_ receiving reviews for chapters that aren't the most recently posted. \^o^/ And you noticed the déjà vu I attempted at the end. ^^ Yes, I really do tend to make "even the most innocent scenes" mysterious—to keep curiosities roused and tensions running. XD Thank you! (Still waiting for your Chapter 7 review, though, but that's okay—take your time. ^^)

**DiesIrae773**_**-san**_: You noticed the juxtaposition of Chapters 6 and 7! Yay! ^-^ I really _was_ going for that, and I was kind of afraid I failed. ^^; As for your Sniper-related question… Your timing was _perfect_. Please read this chapter to find out why! XD

(P.S. At this point in the fanfic, Sniper's last appearance was in Chapter 5, in which he was… err, Setsu's "means of transportation" XD… to rummage around Yukimi and Mushiyori Cities. Right? So when we consider the timeline of the events in this fic, it has actually been only _one (nightmarish) night and one morning_ since Sniper and Setsu were last together. He hasn't really been gone for that long. ^-^ But of course, the time _did_ seem to draw out much longer because of all the stuff that had involved Kurama and Setsu—but not Sniper—in just one nightmarish night and one sweat-drop-drenched morning. ^^)

(P.P.S. If you find that particular pairing interesting... Look out for the next two chapters. *wink*)

**animegirl2961-**_**san**_: Hi! Nice to hear from you again! ^-^ I'm so glad you found Chapter 7 "cute" in spite of the Physics overload in there. ^^; Thank you for waiting! Here's the next chapter!

And **GlassTier-**_**san**_, to whom this chapter is dedicated **seven** times: Wow. You actually reviewed _all_ of the chapters of this fanfic so far. And you even checked out _**Stop Obsessing over Kurama!**_. Thank you for that! \^o^/

(I remember that I sent you a PM for your review of Chapter 1. But your more recent reviews have rendered that reply of mine outdated now, so I didn't copy it here anymore. Instead, this is an entirely new response—to _all_ of your reviews.)

I truly appreciate your review of Chapter 3. It was the best-rounded review you had posted. ^^

As for your questions from Chapter 4… Although I know of a particular scene that might have given you the idea that she could be a he, Setsu is really a she. (Although that nickname of hers could also be assigned to a he. XD) She was born to human parents by being human in race in the first place. Now whether she truly is "back to take revenge on Kurama" or has "had a crush on him for years upon years"—which are glaringly diametrically opposed character possibilities, aren't they? ^^;—has yet to be revealed. ^-^ But your way of answering your own questions as you read further both amused and amazed me. I have to admit, you're very close to the truth! XD And yes, your "amazing powers of deduction" serve you well. Even against them plot twists. ^^

Ah, yes—my alliteration attacks. XD I don't even know why or how they happen. They just do.

And I believe I need to remind you that this fanfic is, for all intents and purposes, a Kurama x OC—in spite of the OC being in a romantic relationship with someone else at this point in the fic. So I think it should be quite understandable for the plot to inevitably veer towards the romance that you found objectionable.

But I know—I may have pushed the fluff envelope too far in Chapter 6. (Even I balked at the songfic scenes.) That was why I tried "neutralizing" all those with the fighting scenes. (A challenging chapter to write. Phew!) But that song _is_ Kurama's theme—hence the puke-provoking lyrics, which I am glad I did not compose myself—and _is_ to play a significant role in this fanfic. If we pay close attention to its English translation, Kurama practically offered us Setsu's true identity on a silver (or fluffily pink XD) platter!

Oh. Do you think Kurama was OOC in Chapter 7, then? But when we think long and hard about it… Albeit Kurama was portrayed as the most "family-oriented"—the most "mama's boy"-ish, anyway—among the four Spirit Detectives… He was _never_ shown in a familial scenario in which all he had to do was sit back, relax, and NOT worry about some demon possessing his stepbrother or using his parents as blackmail against him. In every YYH scene involving his family, they were always in some form of danger. So the Kurama-when-his-family-is-NOT-in-danger was… well, really _never_ depicted for us. So I'm actually groping in the dark here, portraying Kurama-with-a-_safe_-family as (what I hope comes across as) a healthy balance between strict yet lenient/indulging.

In any case, if you have suggestions as to what I could possibly do to improve this particular portrayal of mine, just tell me so in a review. ^^ I just wish you will continue to review until the very end of this fic.

And without further ado…  
**Happy reading!**

* * *

**8: The Guilty  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **Rematch with the Master**

A familiar freckled boy in a hooded light blue shirt and dark blue shorts confidently strutted into the local game center.

Kurama bit back a gasp.

_Amanuma._

An excited, impishly grinning Amanuma Tsukihito fished into the side pocket of his short pants. He tossed several coins up into the air and caught them all with one sweeping grab as he eyed the rows and rows of videogame machines lining the arcade. "_Yoshi!_ None of my favorites are malfunctioning today!"

As the Gamemaster took his pick from the fully operational and vacant game machines, distant, detached green eyes looked away.

"'_Dachi'…_ 'Eye to Eye'… '_Hohoemi no Bakudan'…_ '_Kuchibue ga Kikoeru'…_ 'Moonlight Party'…" An entirely absorbed Setsu skimmed through the song titles from the long playlist of the drum simulation game. "Oh. Here it is."

A fist gripping a pair of drumsticks pushed on the "Start" button.

"Level one!" announced a cheery, energetic computerized female voice. "Song start!"

A deafening blare boomed out of the sound system of the drumming game. A musical scale with notes suddenly appeared at the top half of the blindingly multicolored LCD screen. Directly below the scale were animated pictures of the different parts of the drum set. The bass drum on the screen turned green.

Setsu stepped on the pedal of the bass drum in time with the color change on the screen. When the snare drum on the game screen turned green, she thumped on the real snare drum before her with the stick on her right hand.

_This song!_ Kurama gasped._ It's the one in my—!_

Wide, bewildered green eyes observed the drum player closely. When Setsu played the violin the night before—_whether it was only in a dream or not_, mused Kurama—she closed her eyes. This time, she played with her eyes open, staring straight at the song-playing guide on the screen.

His gaze settled on her arms. She crossed them. She struck the tom-toms on her right with the drumstick in her left hand and the ones on her left with her right. _So she really _is_ left-handed!_

"For a song with such a slow drum beat, its violin score is disturbingly fast," mumbled Setsu to herself as she hit the rack-mounted toms and the floor tom alternately, faithfully following the drum parts that lighted up on the playing guide on the screen.

Kurama clenched a fist. _Now or never! I have to know!_ "Mayonaka-_san_, what song is that?"

"_Hn?_" Curious blue eyes darted away from the game screen for a split second. "Its title is _Nightmare._" His question came to her as a surprise. "Why?"

_Don't you remember playing it just last night?_ "I have heard it before."

"Oh." She leaned forward from the stool to strike the cymbals in time with the refrain. "I can believe that."

Kurama's eyes narrowed. _Why? Is it because last night was not…?_

"It _is_ a rather popular song."

Its drumbeat was simple, its tempo moderately slow. She needed only step on the bass drum pedal once, rap on the snare drum after a half-count, then step on the bass drum again—twice this time—then hit the snare drum once again. This comfortable beat changed only during the refrain of the song, in which she had to infuse cymbal chimes before repeating the same musical pattern all over again.

"Did you choose it for any particular reason?" _Are you trying to tell me something about last night?_

"It has a slow beat," shrugged Setsu, her eyes on the videogame screen. "And I have heard it before too, of course. It isn't all that special a song, really."

_We'll see about that._ "Could you also play that song with the violin?"

"I already told you, _sempai_, I broke a violin once," Setsu lightly chuckled at her own confession. "I don't want _that_ to happen again."

_But your violin_ did_ break last night! It got smashed to pieces!_ "Did it break while you were playing it, or—"

"'_NIIIIIIII-SAAAAAN! IIIIITOKOOOOO!"_

* * *

_Oh, for the love of sanity!_ Thank you_,_ _Shuuichi!_

Setsu shot a distracted eye at the hurriedly approaching teenage boy. "Louder, _itoko_," she spat sarcastically. "I don't think they heard you in _Antarctica_."

Shuuichi skidded to a halt before his elders and scowled at the one playing the drumming game. "Oh, yeah? _The entire population of Antarctica_ has been writing in complaints about your drum-playing! They said you suck!"

"Really? I didn't know that penguins could write."

The outwitted boy's lips jutted out in a cross, cranky pout. "Hmph!" He turned to his stepbrother instead. "'_Nii-san_, the guys said my summer school classmates got together and formed a study group." With his thumb, he pointed to the group of boys crowding the basketball shooting booths. "The group's preparing for our Physics diagnostic tomorrow. Can I go, can I go?"

Kurama sighed to himself. His _otouto_ was all hyper again. He must be particularly fond of someone in that study group. "On one condition—show me your notes afterwards."

Shuuichi slapped his palm on his forehead and groaned. "You mean I'll have to take down notes?"

"But of course." A stern yet smiling Kurama said matter-of-factly. "You must also convince me that you took them down yourself. They must be written in your own penmanship."

Shuuichi groaned again, this time even more loudly.

While the two Shuuichis paid no attention to her, Setsu forced a gulp down her throat.

_That was a close one._ Blue eyes strayed from the game screen and lost themselves in a rippling sea of red. _Minamino-_sempai_, don't make me lie to you, _onegai_._

_Isn't it better that we pretend your "nightmare" never happened? This way, you need not explain your plant-controlling powers to me. And I need not explain…_

She sat on the drum stool quietly, motionless. The sound system still playing the frenetically fast violin score of the song, the word MISS scandalously flashed in red on the videogame screen every time that the drum player failed to play a note.

… _everything._

* * *

_Just as well._ Kurama watched his stepbrother exit the videogame arcade with three other boys playfully punching each other on the arm. _It would be best for him to be out of the way_.

_Now…_ He whirled to face—to confront—Setsu, who suddenly bolted from the stool and clutched both sides of the drum simulation game monitor.

"That's _it_?" Bewildered blue eyes stared disbelievingly at the screen. "That was some cliffhanger of an ending."

Green eyes turned to the multicolored screen, wherein the words GAME OVER blinked in big, bold red letters.

"Level one! Song failed!" proclaimed the computerized female voice, even cheerier and more energetic than before. "Game over!"

"But I just spaced out for two seconds or something…" Crimson from ear to ear, an utterly humiliated Setsu hid her eyes beneath her hair and knocked on one of her temples. "And did it _have_ to rub the 'failed level one' part in, too?"

Kurama found himself chuckling in spite of himself. "You can always play again."

_And while you're distracted, I could—_

"_Anou_…"

Both Kurama and Setsu whirled to find a raven-haired boy in his pre-teens in their midst.

"I was just wondering," the boy clapped a hand behind his neck and ogled at his feet, self-conscious in the presence of adults—or older teenagers, at least. "Are you two available?"

"_HN?_" Blue eyes widened. "Are you actually asking _both_ a male _and_ a female out at the same time?"

"Mayonaka-_san_, you must have misunderstood." Green eyes darted from his companion to the newcomer. "Available for what?"

"We need two extra players over there," the schoolboy motioned to a group of junior high students surrounding another boy busily playing a game in one of the machines lined in a row.

Kurama winced inwardly. _Amanuma. I should have known._

Holding an unrequited grudge against the drum simulation game, Setsu jammed the drumsticks into their holder at the side of the machine. "But you guys don't seem to be lacking in number. What game are you guys playing, anyway?"

"Goblin City."

Green eyes narrowed. A jaw and a fist clenched at the same time.

"We need seven players to play against the Goblin King, but our chicken friends backed out 'cause the King was too much for them. But I don't want to lose!" The kid suddenly balled his hands into fists, his fervent desire to defeat the "Goblin King" showing on his face. "I don't want to give him our tickets! We've been saving them for a really, really long time so we can exchange them for that go-cart!"

Setsu eyed the top prize of the arcade redemption booth. "Oh. I see," she turned her attention back to the group of boys. "And who among them is that 'Goblin King'?"

Kurama hung his head low and closed his eyes, knowing the answer to her question all too well.

"Amanuma-_kun_." The determined, desperate boy pointed at the kid with short, crew-cut brown hair and big blue eyes. "_He_'s the Gamemaster."

"You mean the guy with freckles?" Setsu shielded her eyes from the blinding arcade lights overhead. "He looks familiar to me…"

_He is more than familiar to me._

"I've seen him some time ago…"

_I've seen him _die_ some time ago._

"I know him."

_I know him well._

"All right. I'll play that Goblin City game against him," she smiled at the boy. "Whatever game that may be."

_Nani?_ "Mayonaka-_san_—"

"Won't you play too, _sempai_?"

A lump caught in Kurama's throat. _I would rather not relive that time…_ "I'll pass."

"But we—!" cried the boy who invited them to play. "We need _two_ extra players! _Please_, mister! I don't want to lose against Amanuma-_kun_!"

_But I don't want to win against him. _He bit back a most sorrowful memory. _Not again._

Setsu eyed Kurama closely. Every fiber in his being was visibly against playing a game with that Goblin King.

Suddenly Kurama felt a calloused hand casually clutch his shirt sleeve.

"What's your score now?"

"Huh?" the young boy blinked at the older girl. "We've won three games out of five, but that was only because he was giving us a fighting chance! Now that our last two players chickened out, we can't take him on by ourselves! We can't defeat him!"

"How many games does Goblin City have in all?"

"Seven. But why—"

"Tell you what," proposed a Setsu still eyeing Kurama carefully. "I'll play for your side. If I win, then you'll already have four out of seven wins, so Minamino-_sempai_ _won't_ have to play anymore."

_Nani?_ Kurama whirled to face her. _What are you—_

"Let's face it," she whispered into the boy's ear. "It's more awkward for grown men to play—not to mention lose—against kids than it is for, well, me for instance. That's what male pride does to them. Let's try to understand him, then. _Ne_?"

_What did you tell him?_

"_Un!_" The boy nodded in understanding. "_Oooiii!_" He raced and called out to his companions. "They said okay! We won't forfeit!"

"_YATTA!_" The other four boys surrounding Amanuma cheered in unison, pumping their fists into the air.

_No. No, I refuse. I refuse to face him!_ An already clenched fist tightened even more. "Mayonaka-_san_, you shouldn't have—"

"I didn't." The hand released the shirt sleeve. "I don't make your decisions for you. But I hope you don't mind watching me play, at least."

Kurama's shoulders sank slightly, easing his tension and discomfort—physically, at the very least. He sighed to himself.

"It's just a game, _sempai_. Winning or losing it is not a matter of life or death. Let's just play for the fun of it. _Ne?_"

_It was, once._ Kurama's gaze fell. "_Aa_."

With heavy feet and an even heavier heart, Kurama stuffed his hands into his pants pockets and strode to the Goblin City game machine.

* * *

_Amanuma Tsukihito. The only child of workaholic parents. Blood type B. Born on the seventh of November. He was only twelve years of age when…_

A calloused hand rolled into a tight fist.

… _Sensui._

_The monster that toyed with Ame-_kun_'s mind._

She cast a sidelong glance at the self-possessed yet somber redhead behind her.

_And yours as well._

_But I cannot take that darkness away. _

* * *

"NOW!"

Two broad-shouldered, heavily built _Reikai_ royal palace guards heaved the metal bar off the door with all their might. Then an elderly diviner in a purified white robe stepped forward, clapped her hands together and chanted one spell after another, attempting to lift the ancient curse from the aged wooden door.

The old woman parted her hands to reveal an orb of white light filled with concentrated _reiryoku_ between them. With all her _reiki_, she hurtled the ball towards the door, violently battering it open.

Koenma unshielded his eyes from the beam and nodded to his loyal servants. "Well done. You may go." The prince in dashing teenage form flipped his long red scarf behind his shoulder. "Jorge, come with me."

"_D-d-demo,_ Koenma-_sama_!" stammered the ogre in the leopard-spotted loincloth. "I-I-I'm s-s-s-s-s-scared!"

"And you think _I'm_ not?" yelled the grownup royal to his cowardly assistant. "That's precisely why you're coming with me! Let's go!"

The beautiful brunette pitilessly yanked the bigger, brawnier, burlier beast by the ear, and they entered the forbidden chamber together.

A mirror.

In every direction they looked was a mirror.

On each visible surface was a mirror. No. Each visible surface _was_ a mirror.

"Wow," Koenma breathed dreamily, starry-eyed and in awe of the secret spectacle behind the forbidden room. He eyed the floor beneath his feet and staggered back when he found himself stepping on himself. "_Gya! Everything_ in here is made of mirrors!"

The prince paced before one particular sheet of glass, his pointer and thumb pinching his chin as he admired the precision of his mirror image. "_Hn_." His eyes narrowed upon noticing that the "Jr" tattoo on his forehead was missing from his imitation. "Something's wrong with this one…"

"_But you are much more handsome _without_ your royal birthmark,_ Ouji-sama." His flawed reflection smirked back at him.

The hairs on the backs of their necks standing up, bloodcurdling screams escaped both the prince and the ogre's throats. Koenma and Jorge collapsed onto the glass floor, cowering away from the speaking, moving reflection while hugging each other tightly.

"A _ghost_!" hollered the blue ogre, scared out of his wits.

"No, you fool! That's who we came to see!"

Koenma let go of his bumbling aide and scrambled to his feet, clearing his throat. An indignant Jorge chose to lay crumpled on the cold ground.

"Ouji-sama_ is certainly right, ogre,_" grinned the fake prince crookedly, his blue pacifier distorting his mouth even more than it already was. "_Let me just step out of my office, and I shall attend to you shortly._"

The impossible image stabbed one foot out of the mirror. An unintelligible "Ngh!" broke from Jorge's chattering teeth as the ogre turned his back to the emerging unknown and covered the back of his head with his violently shivering hands. Koenma watched the phenomenon in silence, his teeth clenching the pacifier in between them. The foot that surfaced from the glass was familiar to him.

It was neither a child's nor a man's. It wore a white sock and a slipper stringed with twine.

Soon enough, the leg attached to the foot thrust out of the glass, exposing a carnation pink kimono. The anonymous creature's other foot and leg followed closely. A white _obi_ was wrapped around its slender waist.

Koenma and Jorge held their breaths as they waited for the entity's head.

A soft, delicate chin appeared above its slim neck, gradually followed by luscious lips, a pert nose, light lilac eyes, and a wave of rippling blue hair ponytailed at the back.

"BOTAN?"

* * *

"Amanuma-_kun_! Don't take our prize tickets just yet!" cried the boy who approached the two young adults now following behind him. "We haven't run out of players yet! We still a have a chance against you!"

Amanuma Tsukihito crossed his arms before his chest and scoffed. "You may have won three games out of five, but I'm stepping up my game now! I'll win the last two games and get that go-cart for myself!" He turned to face his new challenger. "So," he tilted his chin up to level eyes with the girl. "You wanna play Goblin City against the Goblin King himself, huh?"

"Well, neither am I a goblin nor do I live in Goblin City, so why should playing against you be all that bad? You're not my king."

The self-assured lad half-smiled. "You're pretty cocky for a girl! But you still can't beat me! I'm unbeatable at Goblin City!"

"Really? I'd like to know _his_ opinion on that."

She stepped aside, revealing a taller adult standing behind her. Amanuma gasped. "You!"

A pair of merciless green eyes emerged from behind a curtain of blood red hair.

* * *

"No, no," the Botan lookalike shook her head. "I am not who you think I am. I am never who anyone thinks I am."

"Huh?" Jorge scratched his horned head. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

The unnamed creature twirled in her spot gracefully, flaunting her imitation of the bubbly, bouncy ferry-girl. "But I certainly look like sweet little Botan-_chan_, don't I, _Ouji-sama_?" She tugged on one of the locks of hair stylishly curled right below her ear and watched the curls bounce. "I think I got every inch of her just right."

A bead of sweat trickled from Koenma's brow. The pacifier in his mouth jerked as he nervously gritted his teeth. "Enough fooling around. Change into someone else. Now."

The apparition floated over to the prince. "She is quite a thing of beauty, _Ouji-sama_. Is her beauty not enough for your royal taste?" She ghosted a petite hand onto Koenma's chin and cupped it between her pointer and thumb. "My, how you have grown, _Ouji-sama_. Time has been very good to you. I only wish he took away your tattoo."

Koenma winced to himself. "We both know I like my other form."

"Just as I love this one," laughed the Botan impersonator. "And I intend to stay like this until I see a more…" She paused for dramatic effect. "… _inspiring_ beauty."

"I should have brought Botan along," mumbled the prince. "You two would have _a lot_ to talk about."

"But Koenma-_sama_, there's something I don't understand," Jorge piped up from the rear. He had been kneeling, cringing behind the prince since the unnamed being first spoke. "I thought we came here to see a horrible monster—"

"Would you care to run that by me again?"

Jorge's entire body froze in fear. He ducked his head behind his hands again and spluttered quickly, nervously. "N-N-No offense, Ma'am!"

The woman batted her long, honey-laced lashes at him. "Just tell me one thing, ogre," she spoke with chilling command. "Were you disappointed to see me like this? Would you have preferred to see me as how your future wife would look?"

"_Ehhhhh?_" The ogre lurched out of Koenma's shadow. "I'm gonna get a future wife?"

"But of course, ogre. I see it." The woman smiled mysteriously. "I see all."

A blush purpling his face, Jorge drifted off into space, imagining himself in a world of floating, throbbing red and pink hearts and a young, beautiful ogress. He murmured to himself dreamily. "Wow… I'm gonna get married someday…!"

Spider veins popped out of an imperial forehead. "Jorge! Get a hold of yourself! That's not what we came here for!"

But it was no use. No one could reach out to the dazed ogre now.

The impersonator laughed and hid her lips behind a long, wide pink sleeve—just as how the real Botan would appear and behave. "I won't waste more of your time, _Ouji-sama_. After all, I certainly know why you wanted to see me."

"You even know what I am about to say to you, don't you?"

"Quite right." The woman twirled again, this time to face the full-length mirror from where she came. "I did not erase that _ningen_'s Life Report. Why don't you check with my _imouto_? She might have something to do with it."

Koenma's brows knitted. "Didn't you see what had happened to that _ningen_ before it—"

"Ask me the future. Not the past." The entity pulled her ponytail off her hair. Long, rippling ocean waves cascaded down her shoulders and across her back. Koenma held his breath, suddenly realizing that he had never seen the real reaper herself with her hair down—literally.

"But you could have seen what had happened to him _before_ it happened—"

"But now that it _has_ happened, I see it no more."

Koenma clenched his fist. "Have you no memories at all?"

Violet eyes widened. A perversely pleased expression crossed the phony Botan's face. "My memories are just as murky as my _imouto_'s future."

The _Reikai_ prince sighed deeply to himself. He tossed his regal scarf over his shoulder and turned on his heels. "Let's go, Jorge!"

He yanked the ogre still consumed in a trance-like state and dragged him out the cursed door.

"It's certainly nice of you to stop by." The replica of a hand prettily waved towards the retreating visitors. "I love having guests over."

The mystical wooden door swung closed on its own. A massive metal bar slammed against it and sealed it shut.

* * *

Amanuma strode to the Goblin City slot machine, a wicked smirk on his face. "I didn't expect to see _you_ here. You don't strike me as a game center guy."

"I came here with company." Kurama stared straight at the slot machine, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"Just like last time." The Gamemaster pulled the slot machine lever. "I gotta admit, this game just got a lot more interesting!"

In the blink of an eye, the three slots of the machine flashed random combinations of pictures: a bag of money, a yellow star, a lemon, a bunch of grapes, an orange, plus other fruits, as well as _chibi_ versions of lead characters from a well-known _shounen_ _manga_-turned-anime entitled _Yu Yu Hakusho,_ among countless others.

While Amanuma's oblivious peers were burbling amongst themselves—"Have they played each other before?", "What did they play?", "Who won?", "You think he stands a chance?"—Kurama watched the panel images flicker and flash in silence. Setsu leaned her back and one foot against a nearby wall and crossed her arms.

The slot machine loudly rang three times in succession—once for every time a panel stopped and revealed its final result: "Puzzle," "Minesweeper," and "Level C."

_No. This wasn't the game._ Taking her eyes off an eerily motionless Kurama, Setsu drew her back away from the wall, uncrossed her arms, and headed off to the game controller station.

"Don't strain yourself _too_ much, lady," beamed Amanuma smugly as he extended a hand towards her. "Let's just get this over with. I still want a rematch with that guy."

Setsu did not even look at his outstretched hand. "Underestimate me. Fine. But don't expect me to shake hands with you after you just insulted me. I don't appreciate a foul mouth."

An affronted Amanuma withdrew his hand and retreated to his station. "Hmph! It takes one to know one!"

A computerized generic male voice crackled from the Goblin City sound system. "Game start!"

* * *

They forced another enchanted door open.

Koenma nodded in acknowledgment to his security guards and spell-caster, and threw a dirty look at the ogre still dreamily in love with the idea of being dreamily in love. "Stay right there, Jorge," ordered the prince of _Reikai_. "This time, I'll go in alone."

An inconvenient darkness played with his senses. He blinked several times, adjusting his eyes to the dark of the chamber.

He found a long, sweeping canopy of scarlet majestically draped over all sides of a four-poster bed. But no chairs, tables, drawers, closets, or other such furniture. At all. The rest of the room was debris. Ruins. Cinders. Vestiges of war. Of past theft and crime.

The bedroom most resembled a penitentiary, an asylum, with its only window of crisscrossed wrought-iron bars offering no means of physical escape. Nothing else but the blurred, clouded glow of the sun penetrated through the unbreakable window and shed a thin, dusty sliver of light upon the dismal room.

"I know you've been locked in here for a very long time," Koenma spoke to the wind. "But you really should consider hiring an interior decorator! They could help you fix this place up in a snap!"

The crisp _Reikai_ wind only growled in response.

"So," he continued, grinning as if contented with the wordless reply. "You can hear me, can't you?"

Suddenly a cold drop of liquid trickled onto his face. "_Eh? Nani o sore?_" He clapped a hand onto his moistened cheek, wiped the droplet away, and eyed his hand curiously. "AAAAAH! BLOOD!"

Wide hazelnut eyes darted to the ceiling—where Koenma assumed the blood had come from—and found an actual readable word spilled onto the stone. "'_Hai_'," he read the mysterious message aloud. His gaze fell to his hand again. "_Daijoubu ka?_ Are you hurt?"

He tilted his head to the ceiling again and gasped. "'Hoarse, but otherwise well'," he read. "'_Arigatou,_ Koenma Daiou-_sama'_."

He clenched his bloodstained fist. "That sentence," he closed his eyes, blinding himself from a flickering memory of centuries long gone. "It's been so long, but you still haven't…"

The letters on the granite wall vanished in time to bare a new splotch of blood. "'No. Not yet'."

"Show yourself." Koenma demanded from someone yet no one. "Just so I know you're still alive."

But the message on the stone did not change at all.

* * *

Setsu stretched out her neck to near herself to the game screen and pointed the cursor at the uppermost right square of the Minesweeper board.

"Don't these squares open to show us where the bombs are _before_ the round begins?" she groaned to herself. "I would have liked this so much better if this had been a test of memory instead."

She clicked on the square. The bomb hidden beneath that very square detonated.

"Game over!" blared the Goblin City announcer. "You lose!"

_Nani_? Kurama blinked. So did the group of boys watching them from up close.

An embarrassed, enraged eyelid twitching on its own, she knocked herself on the head. "I can't believe that just happened."

"Hey! What gives?" Amanuma peeped at her from his screen. "I won already? That was even faster than I thought!"

"Apparently, this is not my day."

A bead of sweat trickled down Kurama's brow. _Fate wants our rematch just as much as Amanuma-_kun_ does. Perhaps even more._ He clapped a reassuring hand on Setsu's shoulder. "_Daijoubu._" He turned to the boys who seemed as though their most wanted go-cart was just pilfered and pulverized before their very eyes. "I have no intention of losing the last game."

Setsu rose from the playing stool and stepped aside. "May it be _your_ day, Minamino-_sempai._" She bowed her head before the distressed young boys, broken strands of sandy brown hair falling across her face. "I let you down. _Mengo_, _minna._ I mean _gomen_. _Gomen nasai_."

She felt disappointed frowns and scowls burning her alive. "You just gave Amanuma-_kun_ an easy win! He didn't even have to break into a sweat!"

"It's not as if I intended to lose," she retorted in her defense, her head still hung low. "Luck just wasn't on my side."

"_Maa_, _maa._ _Mou, ii yo_," Kurama dismissed the matter with a wave of the hand. "All is not lost. We have yet to settle the score."

"Three all!" announced a cheeky Amanuma, once again going to the slot machine and pulling its lever. "Which finally brings us to the round I've been waiting for—the tiebreaker!"

_Amanuma. Sensui's sacrificial lamb._ In Kurama's mind's eye, an imaginary Sensui Shinobu materialized beside the Gamemaster, a manipulative arm draped onto the boy's shoulder. He gritted his teeth. _Sensui, what a cruel man you truly were!_

The machine chimed three times as its slots revealed the words: "Puzzle," "Three-Seven," and "Level G."

Both Kurama and Amanuma gasped.

"Well, whaddya know!" chuckled Amanuma.

_History repeats itself._ His eyes buried beneath his hair, a distressed yet determined Kurama looked up and strode to the game controller, containing himself in spite of himself.

Behind them, Setsu leaned her back against the wall and crossed her arms before her chest again. She watched on in strange silence, blue eyes especially glassy… blank… lost… absent…

Gone.

* * *

"I command you to show yourself!" Koenma's reedy adult voice bounced to and from the stone walls of the palace jail cell. "I summon you!"

The wind in the chamber suddenly roared and hoisted Koenma off his feet. He gritted his teeth and hung on to one of the posts of the four-poster bed with both hands. "And this is the _weaker_ one?" he pointed out to himself, constantly brushing his wildly flailing red scarf away from his face.

And just as suddenly as it rushed in, the air in the forbidden room died down. The Prince of the Spirit World landed on his feet and detected a slight, nearly impossible movement on the quilt. He gasped. "A-Are you there?"

An illusion tossed the blanket aside with one grand, sweeping motion.

"_Hai_," breathed an airy, ethereal voice that neither _ningen_ nor _youkai_ had ever heard before. "Koenma Daiou-_sama_."

A pair of frail, anemic feet suddenly appeared before the imperial's eyes. The stitched hems of a long red kimono clothed the ankles of the still-invisible being. Soon, more of the kimono emerged—and a breathless Koenma marveled at the many intricate stitches of lotus flowers, buds, and leaves lining the robe. The _obi_ binding the creature's torso was a murky midnight blue, almost black.

Koenma could not patiently wait for the faceless figure to reveal itself in full.

"Did you erase the Life Report of—"

"The _ningen_ Mori Hibino?" A pair of pale, cracked lips emerged from above a thin, bony collarbone. But they remained still and silent even when Koenma perceived audible sound from them. "Shouldn't you be asking me if I killed him in the first place, Koenma Daiou-_sama_?"

Both the prince's eyes and mouth opened wide. "He's dead?"

"He has not been storing any more new memories since three mortal nights ago."

"Even so, he could just be unconscious! In a coma! He could be suffering from amnesia!"

He heard a heavy sigh. The lips and chin visible to him swayed from side to side—the partially perceptible entity was shaking its head. "His orb has been with me since last night. It must have died with him three mortal nights ago, but taken two more mortal nights to finally separate from his body."

"Do you see his memories of his killer?"

"He has none." An incomplete head hung low, peacefully mourning the loss of an innocent _ningen_. "I could rewrite his entire Life Report for you, Koenma Daiou-_sama_. Unfortunately, that still won't bring him back to life."

"_Iiya_," Koenma closed his eyes. "That won't be necessary. I'll just have his Death Report prepared right away."

"If only he knew just what or who had taken his life…" A small nose now appeared above pallid, broken lips. "… I would remember every last detail without question or delay."

"_Mou, ii yo_."

A pensive, unsmiling Koenma strode out of the dark dungeon.

Just as the cursed door swung closed behind him, staring sorrowfully at his retreating figure from the four-poster bed was a pair of colorless yet human-looking eyes.

* * *

Setsu blinked once, twice. But she still saw it.

_It was dark in that cave._

_Minamino-_sempai_ wore a green tunic with hems lined in pink and a yellow cloth wrapped around his waist. Urameshi stood to his immediate left. He was in sports sneakers, jeans, and a plain white shirt—which he soaked and tore apart later during his duel with that darned monster. _

She closed her eyes slowly, straining to hear faraway voices.

"_Kurama, is there any chance of you winning the game?"_

"_There is. _Shikashi_, if things go the way I imagine they will, my heart will be heavy over beating Amanuma-_kun_."_

* * *

His hand closing around the joystick used in the Three-Seven game of Goblin City, Kurama blinked the sudden memory away. _Things_ did_ go the way I imagined they will._

"Game start!" The artificial male announcer declared. "The player who clears the most blocks without filling them to the top wins the game!"

_Did I really do it? Did I really kill Amanuma-_kun_? Was it the best option I had at the time? Was it the _only_ option I had at the time? _

_But he was just Sensui's sacrificial lamb. He did not deserve to die._

_I should not have been able to kill him. He was no_ youkai. _He was a _ningen_. A child, at that!_

Kurama stared straight at his game screen, piloting his joystick to drop the incoming _two-four_ brick next to the brick with the number _one_.

* * *

Her eyes still closed, Setsu pressed her back against the wall harder, unaware that she was biting her lip.

_He clenched his left fist—the one away from the boy's range of vision. The more tightly he clenched it, the more violently it trembled at his side. Green eyes hid from everyone's view. "If you lose this game…"_

"_Huh?" Suddenly, the expression on the boy's face changed from conceit to confusion. The prospect of defeat had not dawned upon him until just then._

_He hung his head low. He did not meet the boy's eyes. "… You will die."_

* * *

_I could not look at him. I did not have to. His dead body was all too clear in my mind._

Kurama maneuvered the joystick to the right, steering a brick with two _sevens_ towards the lone _seven_ on the rightmost corner of his game board.

* * *

"_Sensui didn't want the boy thinking of the possibility of death. However, he counts on us to figure it out and think of nothing else." The distinguished martial artist Genkai-_shihan_ pointed out to an unwitting Urameshi. "It fits into Sensui's pattern: testing our moral limits, seeing if we will justify the kill."_

A silent Setsu pounded a fist on the wall behind her. _Sensui…!_

"_Well, we won't!" Urameshi assumed hastily… recklessly. "Will we?"_

"_Kurama has."_

Her eyelids flew open. Blue eyes waded amidst a torrent of red hair.

"_That's why he told the boy the truth," explained the elderly fighter. "To make him weak."_

_You could have looked at it from another perspective. He told Amanuma-_kun_ the truth to make the boy realize the monstrosity of Sensui Shinobu as well as the error of his own folly._

_Amanuma-_kun deserved_ to know the truth! He deserved to know it much sooner than he did!_

"_It's a dirty trick, but Kurama knows what he must do."_

* * *

_Genkai-_shihan_ was right. I knew what I had to do._

_None of us had the choice to let Amanuma-_kun_ live. We were all trapped in his Territory. Amanuma-_kun_ himself was no exception. As long as we remained within its confines, either he or the seven of us had to die. _

_Either us—or him. It was a predetermined dichotomy. Sensui planned it all along. It had no gray areas in between. No loopholes. No undefined alternatives of action. No leaps of faith._

He_ had to die in order for us to save _Ningenkai_ in time. One of us had to defeat him. One of us had to kill him. _

_One of us had to murder a _ningen_ child._

_Saving _Ningenkai_… Did it completely justify taking the life of one of its own?_

_Hiei could have done it, but he did not know how._

_So why did I?_

_Did I think I could? Was that why I did?_

* * *

Carrying her book bag in front of her with both hands, a Yukimura Keiko in private women's college uniform strode right through the _noren_ lining the top of the now fully repaired ramen stand. She set her bag on the tabletop and sat on a stool.

"_Irasshai!_" exclaimed Urameshi Yusuke, busily tossing a knot of noodles into the air using his trusty strainer. He spotted her from the corner of his eye. "Oh, it's just you."

"Why are you always so disappointed to see me?" snapped a scowling Keiko. She leaned an elbow on the table and propped her chin on her palm, harrumphing to herself.

"I thought you were a customer!" cried Yusuke in self-defense, ducking behind his heaping strainer as if it could ever serve as a shield.

Keiko pouted and looked away. "Oh, Yusuke—you make me so mad sometimes." Her gaze dropped to the left-hand underside of his ramen cart. It was noticeably scorched and covered up with scrap material. Her chin suddenly left her hand. "What happened to your cart?"

Yusuke dropped his strainer onto a bucket filled with clean water and scrambled to a lid threatening to jump off a violently boiling soup pot. "Some bastard burned it and took my money."

Keiko gasped, instinctively covering her widened mouth with her hand in a manner reminiscent of prim-and-proper ladies of nobility and stature. "Yusuke, that's _terrible_!"

"Y' can say _that_ again," nodded the ramen chef, lukewarm pot lid still in hand. "But everything's a-okay now! Kurama caught the guy an' I beat the crap outta him good!"

"Kurama-_san_?" repeated Keiko, blinking in curiosity. "He was here when it happened?"

"_Aa_, he was investigatin' somethin'. Asked me to look out for anythin' fishy."

"I haven't seen him since he started working," she looked up at the summer afternoon sky thoughtfully and shielded her eyes from the sun. "How is he?"

"Y' know, still a nice guy." He plopped freshly cooked rice noodles onto a deep bowl. "He came back 'ere after his day shift several times jus' to help me patch up this ol' beaut."

"That _was_ very nice of him."

"Yeah," Yusuke scratched the tip of his nose, uncomfortable with their feel-good topic of conversation. "But I can't help thinkin' there's somethin' goin' on with 'im these days."

"And what is that?"

Yusuke leaned closer to Keiko, about to cup one of her ears with his hand when she pulled away from him. "Yusuke, is that even necessary? We're the only two people in here!"

"But this is top secret!"

Keiko closed her eyes and sighed at her fiancé's silliness. "If you say so."

She brought a listening ear closer to his mouth and gasped.

* * *

_But that was out of the question. Whether I could or could not, I had to._

_I had to! If I did not take his life, swarms of the lowest forms of _youkai _would have taken the lives of _all ningen_!_

_But he was just a child! He did not know what he got himself into! Sensui identified with his hopes and dreams, his fears and insecurities, and twisted the boy's worldview of reality to meet his own sick needs!_

"Amanuma-_kun_." From the corner of his eye, Kurama shot a glance at the boy on the game controller opposite his. "There's something I wanted to ask you."

"What?" The boy blinked innocently.

* * *

"_A man like Sensui—" __A drop of blood dripped from his clenched, trembling left fist. "__—has no other loyalty except to himself and his cause." He paused and hung his head low. "And he cares nothing for how much blood is shed to reach that goal."_

_He unclenched his left fist and stared at his now open hand. His nails had dug deeply into it, piercing four small but heavily bleeding wounds lining his palm. He clenched his fist again._

"_Not even the blood of an ignorant young boy who foolishly chose wrong over right."_

Setsu eyed Kurama's left hand from afar.

* * *

"Do you remember how our last game ended?"

Suddenly, a faceless figure in a green robe with the letter G on it took over Amanuma's game screen. A mysterious gray smoke engulfed the Goblin King, leaving the two-horned, gloved animated character sprawled atop the screen, dead. Below his fallen form appeared the words, "Game over! Hark and rejoice, for the evil Goblin King is dead, and peace has been restored to the town!"

A most dreaded word relentlessly echoed in his mind. "'Dead'… 'Dead'…"

The boy froze in fear.

_The weight of the world was on both our shoulders, Amanuma_-kun_. It was as hard for me to accept as it was for you._

* * *

Panic took full tyrannical control of Amanuma. He accidentally dropped a _four_ in between two _sevens_ on the left and one _seven_ on the right.

Setsu closed her eyes once more. _Urameshi._

"Hey, he just missed a pretty easy three-seven!" One of Amanuma's playmates pointed out to his companions.

"Three plus two plus what equals seven? Three plus two plus what equals seven?" A bead of sweat trickling between his eyes, Amanuma prompted a logical answer from his mental calculator, only to receive a technical glitch in response. "Plus what? Plus _what_? _What_?"

But there was simply no end to those bricks, falling faster and faster with each missed turn. Amanuma gasped in horror.

_Yanagisawa Mitsunari._

"Uh, I'm not up on this game's strategy," shrugged one of Amanuma's spectators. "But that's the opposite of it, right?"

_Urameshi again._

"Yeah, that's bad," agreed another boy from Amanuma's school.

_Kaitou Yuu._

"The Goblin King's distracted himself!" cried the very boy who had invited Kurama and Setsu to play.

_But I still cannot take the darkness away._

* * *

Amanuma grabbed onto his joystick with both hands in an attempt to gain control of himself and his game, but even he could see that it was too late. The bricks on his game board had already stacked much higher than Kurama's. He looked over at Kurama pleadingly. "Please, is there anything I can do to get out of this?" He missed another combination and gasped. "_Anything?_"

Kurama could hear the boy's silent screams: "_I don't wanna die—I don't wanna die—I don't wanna die!_"

He bit back his own. _I don't want to defeat you—I don't want to kill you—I don't want you to die! _

"Is there not a way to shut down this territory and void your power?"

"No, I've tried that!" Amanuma choked on his own sobs. "It's impossible to shut it down while the game's still in progress! Unless you choke at this game—"

_What you are asking from me…_

"—There's no way out!"

… _I can't allow it._

"I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen."

_I'm sorry._

_If only there was some other way… to save both _Ningenkai_ and you… _

_But I have made my choice._

"This isn't about choosing one life over another."

_Don't think that I didn't choose yours. Don't even think that I had a choice in the first place!_

"You knew what Sensui's going to do. You can't say you weren't responsible for your own fate."

_Learn to face the dire consequences of your decisions, Amanuma-_kun.

_Just as I will face mine._

"But I didn't mean for this stuff to really happen!" The boy's voice cried along with his eyes. He gripped the joystick with both hands, holding on to it for dear life. "I don't wanna die! _I don't wanna die!_"

A brick with two sevens grazed the very top of Amanuma's game board.

It was over.

The Goblin City sound system blasted its final buzzer. "Game over! Hark and rejoice, for the evil Goblin King is dead, and peace has been restored to the town!"

Amanuma lay curled on the cold, hard ground, a tear forming at the corner of his eye.

_Amanuma Tsukihito. As long as I am alive, your death will not be in vain._

* * *

_He is clenching his fist again,_ Setsu sighed to herself. _Even more tightly than before._

She thrust herself forward and away from the wall, uncrossed her arms, and strode towards a silently seething Kurama. He was just waiting for the phenomenal collapse of the boy's Territory now. He hid his eyes beneath his hair and dug his nails into his fisted palm.

But neither colossal explosion nor cataclysmic earthquake came.

"Minamino-_sempai_. You won."

_Go give him a piece of your mind, Urameshi._

"_Kurama, don't blame yourself."_

Kurama looked up, still refusing to meet the eyes of the _ningen_ next to him: Yusuke or Mayonaka-_san_—whoever it was. Every emotion and every expression known and unknown framed his emotionless, expressionless face. Cold. Hard. Nonhuman. Inhuman.

"I have no regrets."

He walked away and closed his eyes, never once looking back.

_I cannot take your darkness away! I can only do so much!_

_Only _you_ can dispel your own darkness! Let go of your guilt! Open your eyes!_

* * *

Kurama opened his eyes, finally waking from his ghastly, realistic spell of déjà vu.

A living, breathing Amanuma Tsukihito trudged up to him, a tear forming at the corner of his eye. "I can't believe I lost to you _again_!" He groaned while holding out a congratulatory hand. "But you're really good at this game, mister! You're way better than Sensui-_san_ ever was, and he creamed me into soup!"

_It was all…!_

The boy grinned at him impishly. "One good thing about losing is, you have something to look forward to for next time—winning!"

For the first time in what he felt was an excruciatingly long while, Kurama smiled. Genuinely. _Nothing could compare to the wonder of human insight._ "_Aa._ Victory is worthless to the man who knows no defeat."

He shook the boy's hand as Setsu and their other spectators applauded for the most scintillating, electrifying game ever played in their local videogame center.

_Dare I ask…?_ "Amanuma-_kun_?"

"Yes?" _All right. I will._

"Would you like us to play again sometime?"

"_Would_ I?" The boy asked rhetorically, thrilled at the prospect of finally beating Kurama at the very game that he himself plays best. "I'm _always_ up for a game! Especially against _you_!"

"So," Setsu folded her arms behind her back and clasped her hands together. "No hard feelings between you two?"

"No hard feelings!" cheered a widely grinning Amanuma. "I forgive you for beating me! Twice! 'Cause I'm gonna beat you twice as hard next time!"

_How long have I wanted—waited—to hear that…_

… _You forgive me._

Kurama's shoulders sank. He sighed deeply, finally letting go of a guilt unforgotten. "No hard feelings," repeated Kurama. _No more._

"But you better watch your back, mister! I'll _kill_ you next time!"

Kurama's eyes widened. A gasp nearly escaped his throat. Then he closed his eyes, smiled to himself, and walked away, never once looking back.

_I'll be on my guard, then._

* * *

Kurama shielded his eyes from the blinding glare of the summer afternoon sun.

"_This_ angle of the sun is particularly bright, _ne_?" Her hand over her eyes as well, Setsu strode alongside him on the city sidewalk.

_See? You banished your darkness on your own…!_

She cast a sidelong glance at the hand away from her view—his left one. A drop of fresh blood dripped from his fist. She sighed to herself. _Not again._

"_Sempai_, stay on my right_, onegai_." With one big step, she suddenly swerved to his left. "You're walking too close to incoming traffic."

Green eyes widened. "Mayonaka-_san_, do you always do that?"

"How about you, Minamino-_sempai_? Do you always do _that_?"

A calloused right hand pressed against tightened, bloodied left fingers, uncurling them… straightening them… sliding in between them.

"Inflicting harm on yourself won't free you of anything."

_A piece of advice that I should heed, myself._

Kurama's gaze fell. An awkward silence further heated the already warm summer air between them.

"I… understand. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." She slipped her fingers away from his. "But if and when you finally feel like talking to someone, just remember—I clean my ears everyday."

* * *

_Mayonaka-_san_, what random train of thought are you following this time?_ Kurama blinked. "Mayonaka-_san_, what—"

"I mean, any day at all is fine with me."

"_Sou._" _I'll remember. I've been remembering a lot of things lately._

"Remember when that Amanuma-_kun_ mentioned someone in passing?" Setsu suddenly piped up. "Some name that sounded like 'Sensui'?"

_How could I forget?_ "_Un_. What about it?"

"Someone named Sensui Shinobu hired Ame-_kun_ once."

_Are you aware that Sensui hired him as his hit man?_

* * *

"I hate that monster," she suddenly spat, gritting her teeth. "He toyed with the mind of someone very dear to me. Took advantage of him. Made him do things that he did not want to do. Exploited his morals, his principles..."

"Mayonaka-_san_."

"_Aa?_"

"Hagiri-_kun_ is fortunate to have someone who cares for him so much."

Setsu bit back a gasp.

_Don't you know that… that…_

* * *

"I hate that monster," she suddenly spat, gritting her teeth. "He toyed with the mind of someone very dear to me. Took advantage of him. Made him do things that he did not want to do. Exploited his morals, his principles..."

A smile threatened to curl Kurama's lips. _All that he did to your Hagiri-_kun…

"Mayonaka-_san_."

"_Aa?_"

… _He also did to me._

"Hagiri-_kun_ is fortunate to have someone who cares for him so much."

_Don't you know that?_

From out of the blue, an especially loud two-stroke engine revved within their earshot. The source of the deafening noise was approaching—fast.

A slick blue Yamaha street cruiser turned the corner, its backseat passenger holding on to its driver tight.

Green eyes widened. "Mayonaka-_san_, isn't that—"

"It is." Blue eyes trailed the incoming motorcycle, particularly its rider at the rear. "But who…?"

Her voice trailed off. She refused to pose the question aloud—for fear that doing so would suddenly realize the unreal.

Kurama's brows furrowed. _There's someone riding with him!_ He shot a look at Setsu. _Does anyone else usually go on rides with your…?_

The motorbike screeched to a halt right before the two of them. Its driver flicked the visor of his helmet up, exposing smoldering lavender eyes. "Tsuki! What are you doing here?"

The passenger riding behind Hagiri Kaname took her helmet off her head, a long, flowing wave of soft brown hair tumbling to her shoulders. "Minamino-_kun_!"

_That voice!_ Widened green eyes darted to the female rider. Even wider brown eyes gazed upon him fondly.

_Kitajima!_

**Continued**

You know, I almost typed _this_ as the alternative title of this chapter: **The Mindrape of Minamino Shuuichi**. XD But when I reread this, I realized his mind wasn't forcibly fucked hard enough. XDD (Why am I such a potty mouth right now? ^^;)

Just in case you don't know who that Kitajima is… Well, I'd hate to be the one to introduce her to you. I really would. *sigh* You can just read the next chapter to find out anyway! ^-^

If you didn't quite catch the dilemma right by the end of this chapter, here it is:  
Kaname and Setsu are together, right? But Kaname caught Setsu with Kurama. *holds breath* And Setsu caught Kaname with Maya. *gasp* And Kurama and Maya were—*double gasp* Damn, I can't breathe anymore. XD

**Japanese to English translations and abridged YYH glossary**

_**aa**_, _**sou**_, and _**un**_. Slang for _yes_ and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
_**anou**_, _**eh**_, _**hn**_, and _**maa**_. Disfluencies of speech (much like the English _uh _and _um_), not limited to the Japanese language  
_**arigatou**__. Thank you,_ less formal than _arigatou gozaimasu  
__**Botan**_. _Peony_, used as a name in this fic  
**-**_**chan**__. _An honorific used to address _girls_, _animals_, or anything that the speaker considers to be cute  
_**chibi**_. Literally meaning _small / little _(in size), refers to a Japanese animation style wherein characters are drawn or portrayed with oversized heads and undersized bodies to add a comic relief effect to the current scene  
_**daijoubu**_. _(That's) all right / okay  
__**demo**__. But  
__**gomen**_. _Sorry_, less formal than _gomen nasai_  
_**gya**_. An onomatopoetic word for a _male_ shriek or scream  
_**hai**_. _Yes  
__**Hiei**_. _Flying shadow_, used as a name in this fic  
_**iiya**_. An informal way of saying _no  
__**imouto**_. _Little sister / younger sister  
__**irasshai**_. Short for _irasshaimase_, a traditional Japanese expression of welcome customarily uttered as a guest or customer enters the establishment_  
__**itoko**_. _Cousin  
**ja**_. _Bye_  
**_ka_**. A be-verb of the Japanese language that makes any sentence a question (e.g. "_Daijoubu ka?_" means "Are [you] all right?")  
_**Keiko**_. _Inclination / tendency / trend_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Koenma**_. _Little Enma / child of Enma_, used as a name in this fic  
**-**_**kun**__. _An honorific used to address _boys_ or boyish girls  
_**manga**_. Japanese _comics_, such as YYH  
_**mayonaka**__. Midnight_, used as a name in this fic  
_**mengo**_. Not an actual Japanese word; Mayonaka Setsuki's version of _sorry_ in this fic  
_**Minamino**__. Southern field,_ used as a name in this fic  
_**minna**_._ All / everyone  
__**mou, ii yo**_. _That's all right / that will do / that will be enough  
__**nani**_**. **_What  
__**nani o sore**_. _What was that  
__**ne**__. _An expression for seeking confirmation (much like the English tag questions _isn't it _or _okay_)_  
_'_**nii-san**__. _A contraction of _Onii-san_, a respectful address for one's own _older brother  
__**ningen**__. Human / human being  
__**noren**_. _Japanese shop curtain  
__**obi**_. _Kimono sash  
__**oi**__. _An expression similar to the English _hey_, not limited to the Japanese language_  
__**onegai**__. Please_, less formal than _onegaishimasu  
__**otouto**__. Little brother / younger brother  
__**ouji**_. _Prince_, customarily followed by the honorific -_sama_ to express a higher degree of respect  
_**Reikai**_. _Spirit World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Demon World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**reiki**_. _Spiritual power_ (as opposed to _youki_); the actual supernatural ability of a _ningen_ or spirit (Please compare with _reiryoku_ below)  
_**reiryoku**_. _Spiritual energy_ (as opposed to _youryoku_); only a manifestation of _reiki_, may be stored in orbs or other objects (For instance, Kurama stores _reiryoku_ in an ordinary short-stemmed red rose so that he could eventually use his _reiki_ to turn it into a whip. Oops! I meant _youryoku_ and _youki_! XD But Kurama is both a demon and a human anyway, so he has _reiryoku_ and _reiki_, too! ^^;)  
_**-sama**__. _An honorific used to address someone very respectfully, like _lord _or _master_  
**-**_**san**__. _An honorific used to address someone politely  
**-**_**sempai**__. _An honorific used to address an upperclassman  
_**setsu**_. _Opinion_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**-shihan**_. An honorific used to address a female master of a skill or art (such as martial arts) in a formal, archaic manner  
_**shikashi**_. _However  
__**shounen**_. Literally meaning _young boy_, a genre of _manga_ and _anime_ aimed towards young male readers and viewers  
_**Shuuichi**__. Excellence first_, used as a name in this fic  
_**tsuki**__. Moon_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**Urameshi**_. _Bay rice_, used as a name in this fic  
_**yatta**_. An interjection expressing success or great pleasure, much like the English _yay_, _yahoo_, or _woo hoo  
__**yoshi**_. Pronounced with a silent _I_, an interjection meaning _good_, expressing success or great pleasure  
_**youkai**_**. **_Demon  
__**Yukimura**_. _Snow village_ (_yuki_ is translated as _snow_, _mura_ as _village_), used as a name in this fic  
_**Yusuke**_. _Ghost helper_, used as a name in this fic

You already know the drill—if I missed anything that you need translating or explaining, just say so in the Reviews page. **Please REVIEW! Thank you so much! ^-^**


	9. The Childhood Sweetheart

**A/N  
**Oops. Sorry I missed my original deadline. I was suddenly called out of town for two weeks, which was why I got back to my laptop too late. Again, my apologies for the wait.

* * *

Chapter 9 is dedicated to the following reader-reviewers:

**Kaori Minamino-**_**san**_, to whom this is dedicated _twice_: Hm. I wonder what happened to your first review of Chapter 7… O.O But I'm glad you enjoyed that chapter! ^-^ Actually, I wasn't very comfortable with its second half because I had excluded the Kurama-Amanuma rematch at the last minute. But if I hadn't done so, the chapter would have been mind-meltingly long! XD All that (I think) I managed to achieve with the second half of that chapter was establishing the (immature) cousinly dynamic between the younger Shuuichi and Setsu. ^^;

And thank you very, very, VERY much for your review of Chapter 8! XD As for your Amanuma-related question… I purposely wrote that part the vaguest way I knew how. ^^; It was entirely up to you to decide which events were occurring in flashbacks and in reality. And yes, the "super psycho twist." XDD Please read on to find out what happens now that Maya's around! ^-^

**GlassTier-**_**san**_: Yeah. Poor Kurama. T.T Didn't mean to torment him so much… And Setsu, well, has a rather convenient power, doesn't she? XD That's all I can say—for now. And yes, please reread those English lyrics. They were *cough* "helpful," all right.

As for your Shiori-related request… All will fall into place when the time is right. Soon. ^^ Keep your blindfold on and enjoy the twisty ride! XD

**S.-**_**san**_: Thank you for the warm compliment! I hope to hear from you again soon! ^-^

**Unita** a.k.a. **Umo-**_**san**_: I said I hoped to hear from you again, and now that I did… I don't know what to say. (Well, at least I'm still typing… XD) Thank you for reading this fanfic again! And for encouraging me to continue this in the first place! And… "greatness." Wow. Thank you for that, too! ^-^

Now that you're back, I'll let you in on a little secret: This really _was_ supposed to be just a one-shot. If you hadn't reviewed this several months ago, I would have left the first chapter as it was and written an entirely new fanfic, entitled _Kurama's Forgotten_. (This title may be interpreted in two ways. One: _Kurama's Forgotten_ _something_, such as his _Past_, _Secret_, _Family_, and so on. And/or two: _Kurama HAS Forgotten_.) But that potential fic would have had the same central plot as this one, and Setsu would still be its OC. The only difference between that scrapped fic and this one would have been Kurama and Setsu's "first" meeting—just Chapter 1, really. The other Chapter 1 would have involved a flower shop and a defective gardening hose. O.o I don't know how _that_ would have worked out. XD

As for Chapter 6, the one with the song… You have to know Kurama's theme song _Nightmare_ to understand it better. (I suggest you reread the English lyrics. Kurama practically offered us Setsu's true identity on a silver platter! He just didn't know it himself!)

Actually, there's a reason why Hiei got hurt so uncharacteristically easily in that same chapter, but for now, I can't divulge it yet. Sorry about that. And I do somehow like Hiei with Mukuro. She's the only female in all four YYH worlds whom I can see Hiei spending the rest of his life with. ^^ But you know, even if I'm writing a KuramaxOC fanfic, I'm a KuramaxHiei shipper in denial. (I just love _doujinshi_ in which Kurama is such an evil dominator. XDD My username itself is really the title of one of my favorites, illustrated by Arina Toshimi. ^-^)

All right, let's poke at her character. (How's it going, Setsu-_chan_? *poke* *is scolded to be serious* Sorry, Setsu-_chan_. Geez, what a grouch! XD) I think that mysterious invisible creature from the end of Chapter 4 just about sums it all up for me: "Unfortunately, I am forbidden from telling you. You must find out [the answers to all your Setsu-related questions] on your own." But I _can_ tell you one thing: She is not who you—all of you—expect her to be. ^_^

You're right about her "reluctance" to reveal her "secret" to Kurama. It would _seem_ like she doesn't want to, but… Well, there's a reason for that, too. Heck, there's a reason behind everything—every mysterious, random, quirky thing—she does. O.o But Kurama is very intelligent. He'll figure this mystery out. And so will you. ^-^

Ah, the rose allergy. It will play a significant role by the end of this fic. ^^ For now, it's just one of the things that make Mayonaka Setsuki random. (By the way, Setsuki is her _first_ name. I have been using the Japanese name order—surname, then first name—throughout this entire fic.)

Minor spoiler alert: Kurama's office fan club won't be his only fan club in this fic. XD He's going back somewhere, you see. And there, they can't get enough of him. XDD

If you love fanfics that delve into Kurama's past… May I suggest you keep reading this one until its very end? *smiles meaningfully* Yes, that's exactly what I mean. \^o^/ By the way, I should be able to read the fic you recommended soon. (I usually fumble and stumble around the YYH section of FF dot Net right after posting a new chapter.) I would love to hear from you again! Rest assured—the answers you seek lurk closer now than ever before! XD

And **rain chant-**_**san**_: Oh, no. Which part(s?) of Chapter 8 in particular did you find too vague for comfort? Actually, I wrote the Kurama-Amanuma rematch the way I did to lend a confusing "twisted reality" effect to the event, but if it had become _too_ confusing… that's bad. O.o I'll read it again soon. Thank you for pointing it out. ^_^

* * *

**9: The Childhood Sweetheart  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **Maya**

"Kitajima…"

Smiling with both her lips and eyes, Kitajima Maya brushed loose brown strands away from her face. "It's been a very, very long time!" She gushed breathlessly, pouncing off the motorcycle and straightening the pleats in her skirt. "How _are_ you?"

Kurama's lips were already parting to respond when his eyes sighted a gloved hand suddenly grabbing hold of a tangled, shaggy scalp.

Without dismounting from the Yamaha, Hagiri Kaname pulled his girlfriend closer to him, the fingers of his right hand burying themselves in her hair and his left palming the small of her back.

Setsu's face contorted into a sour, awful mess. "What are you doing, Ame-_kun_?"

A rough whisper gave her right earlobe an itch. "What are _you_ doing here with that guy?"

Smoldering violet flames and cold blue ice settled on the tall male redhead standing a few inches away.

"He's my cousin's older stepbrother," she murmured back, purposely tickling Kaname's ear in the process.

"Oh?" A doubtful eyebrow arched upward. "We've never talked about your 'cousin's older stepbrother' before…"

Doubted eyebrows scrunched together. "That is because it's only been one day since you brought me to his family's house."

As the couple exchanged (not so) sweet nothings into each other's ears, Maya leaned closer to Kurama, cupping her hand over her mouth to muffle herself from the pair. "They sure are close, aren't they?"

She giggled to herself, her fingers lightly touching her lips. Kurama could not help but smile as well. "_Un_."

"So, Minamino-_kun_!" Maya clasped her hands together in thrilled delight. "We have so much catching up to do! What have you been up to since we graduated from junior high?" She fired question after question at him. "Something exciting? Unusual? Out of the ordinary? Any close encounters?"

_Kitajima…_ Kurama held his hands up to calm his hyper female friend. _In high spirits, as always._ "I stayed in Meiou for high school—"

"Ooh! Kaitou-_kun_ didn't like that very much, I bet!" Maya grinned and shook her head, reminiscing of their studious, bookish former classmate whose thick, heavy-looking spectacles always threatened to fall off his nose. "Hasn't he always treated you like his number one rival?"

_She remembered…_ "True." Flashbacks of his and Kaitou Yuu's once bitter, yet actually only one-sided, rivalry fondly flooded Kurama's memory. "But our latter years in Meiou High turned out for the best. He and I are on speaking terms now, for one."

Liquid brown eyes softly gazed upon a lightly chuckling Kurama. "That's so good to know," smiled Maya. "He must have finally accepted the truth—that he'll _never_ be any match for _you_!"

Kurama blinked, uncomfortable with the congruent praise and insult. "Kitajima…!"

_Kaitou only wanted to—_

"But it's true!" Maya nodded shamelessly at first. But those beautiful, intense green eyes cast a powerful spell upon her. She could not resist sighing in resignation. "Oh, all right," she threw her hands up in the air. "He was good in class, too. But I _still_ think you were far better!"

The former class valedictorian sighed to himself. _She certainly still believes in me…_

Even after half a decade of separation, her awe of him never swayed. "It's really so nice to see you again, Minamino-_kun_…"

Suddenly a biker cleared his throat, and Maya found two jam-packed brown bags—brimming to their open tops with canned goods, and nearly bursting at their seams—shoved in her arms.

"We're going now." Kaname flicked the dark visor of his motorcycle helmet down over his eyes.

"_EEEHHH_?" cried a disbelieving, disapproving Maya, obviously opposed to the mere idea of parting ways with her wonderful former classmate so soon after being apart from him for so long. "_DEMO_, KANAME-_CHAN_—"

"Stay if you want, _ane_," harrumphed the motorbike driver. His thumb pointed to the short-haired brunette behind him. "_She_'s coming with me."

Setsu shot a meaningful glance and grin at the two. "I hope you don't mind." She planted a hand on Kaname's shoulder, swung a leg over his bike, and hoisted herself upon it. As he revved up his engine, she pounded a fist onto her palm. "That reminds me." Blue orbs locked on green. "Have fun on your date, Minamino-_sempai_."

The couple rode away into the distance just as a now cherry-faced Maya accidentally dropped her grocery bags. "D-D-_DATE_?"

_Still the same, that _ningen_. _An exasperated Kurama sighed and stooped to pick up her groceries. "Don't listen to her, Kitajima—"

"I'm sorry!" Blushing furiously from ear to ear, Maya tucked her skirt in between her legs and crouched down to help Kurama. "I didn't realize you were together! I shouldn't have—"

Kurama clapped a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. _Ii yo._ I will accompany you." He held up a can of stewed tomatoes and placed it inside a bag with care. "Were you and Hagiri-_kun_ on your way home when you saw us?"

"_IIYADA_, Minamino-_kun_! I don't want to cause you any—"

"_Iiya_. It's no trouble at all."

Kurama scooped up the fallen paper bags and began walking towards the direction to which Kaname and Maya were riding earlier.

His back turned to her, Maya smiled secretly. "You're still the gentleman you've always been, Minamino-_kun_…" she breathed dreamily to herself, clasping her hands to her heart. "I really, _really_ like you for that…"

He was already several meters away from her when she snapped out of her romantic reverie and sprinted to catch up to him. "Minamino-_kun_! At least let me help you with those!"

* * *

A pointer finger circled and twirled around the arches of Kaname's spine.

He was tempted to close his eyes, to fully concentrate on the mysterious message Setsu was busily etching on his backbone. But he could not. Either the speedometer of his bike had broken, or they were actually—finally!—getting away with going over the city speed limit. Besides, too many innocent bystanders littered the sidewalks… too many cars clogged the road to Mushiyori National. He had to maneuver—to weave—past them, no matter what his passenger says or does.

_You. Should. Not. Have. Just. Dumped. Your. Stuff. On. Her_, spelled the finger digging into his back.

"But _you_ insisted to leave them alone, didn't you?" spat Kaname through his helmet, the wind thrashing against them at high speed carrying his voice to her ears.

_On… ly… be… cause… YOU… wan… ted… US… to… be… a… lone_, Setsu finger-spelled onto his back.

"She'll be fine," he assured her smugly. Beneath a pitch black visor, lavender eyes suddenly narrowed dangerously. "Unless it's him you're worried about."

_He'll be fine as well,_ Setsu sighed to herself. _After all, he _was_ her childhood sweetheart…_

A now playful pointer finger drew a smiley-style angry face right in between flawlessly carved shoulder blades.

Kaname stifled an involuntary laugh. "TSUKI!" He writhed away from her ticklish touch. "NOT THERE!"

* * *

"_Uso_!" gasped Yukimura Keiko, clapping her hands over her mouth. "It couldn't be—!"

"_YO!_" bellowed a noticeably tall, well-built figure emerging from the distance. Striking orange tufts jutting across his forehead, the carrot-haired college student sported jeans and a sky blue shirt under a dark blue denim jacket. "_OOOOI!_" At his side was a smaller figure with a distinct, near-otherworldly, shade of turquoise hair. "URAMESHIII! YUKIMURAAA!"

"KUWABARA!" cried Yusuke from behind his ramen stand counter.

Keiko raised and waved a welcoming arm to their approaching friends. "Yukina-_chan_!"

Her hands primly clasped together in front of her, the quiet _koorime_ in the preppy pink dress and dark brown jacket warmly smiled, her eyes closing in the process. "Keiko-_san_."

Stepping out from behind her younger—but sizably bigger—brother, Kuwabara Shizuru flipped her hair over her shoulder with an air of sophisticated poise, took a puff of her cigarette, and sighed the smoke out of her system. "And I was worried my _baby brother_ would run out of places to go to on his little _date_."

An irked Kuwabara Kazuma thrust himself against his sarcastic sister. "How could ya call _this_ a 'date' when you jus' won't leave me an' Yukina-_san_ _alone_? Yer crampin' my _style_!"

"How could I? It was already cramped to begin with!" She joked to a now lightly chuckling Yukina. "_Na_, Yukina-_chan_?"

"AAAAAHHH!" The younger Kuwabara gripped his hair and hyperventilated upon sitting on a stool in between the boon and the bane of his existence. "YOU—!" He pointed an accusatory finger at the long-haired brunette in business casual. "You made Yukina-_san_ laugh at me! This is where I draw the line!"

Yusuke guffawed at his old rival-turned-best friend's hypersensitivity. "C'mon, Kuwabara!" He swung a friendly arm over the taller man's shoulder. "It's no big deal! _Everyone_ laughs at _you_!"

"THAT'S IT!" A gigantic spider vein popping out of his temple, Kuwabara pushed Yusuke away and cracked his own knuckles, one by hard one. "Y' asked for it, Urameshi!"

"Bring it on!" A fired-up ramen chef yanked his hairnet off his gel-slicked pompadour and leapt out of his stall.

While the rowdy boys settled the score in a light-hearted but heavy-handed fistfight, Keiko sighed to herself, Shizuru smoked, and Yukina smiled at no one in particular—all of them apparently used to the boy brawl in their midst.

Keiko turned to the other girls. "It's really thoughtful of you to drop by. I'm sure Yusuke gets lonely here sometimes."

"Is that why _you're_ keeping him company, Keiko-_chan_?" teased Shizuru with a knowing wink.

Blood flooded all over Keiko's face. "_S-Sou na!_" She balled her hands into fists in her lap and stared at them self-consciously, stammering. "No way!"

Soft and still as before, Yukina giggled at Yusuke's fiancée's pointless denial. She folded her hands together in her lap. "Everyone is so happy."

Upon hearing the comment, the flustered Keiko calmed down and grinned at Yukina in agreement. "_Un!_ I just wish Botan-_san_ and the others were here, too. We'd be even happier!"

"That's too much to ask of them, Keiko-_chan_," sighed Shizuru, always one to point out the downside. Her lips closed around her cigarette, broke away, and blew out a ribbon of whitish gray smoke. "They're back in _Reikai_ now. Well, Hiei is probably still patrolling the boundaries of _Makai_…"

"Hiei-_san_…" murmured Yukina to herself, blood red eyes detached, distant.

"So the only ones still among us are Genkai-_shihan_ and Kurama-_kun_."

Two pairs of male ears perked up. Kuwabara and Yusuke stopped in mid-punch all at once.

"Speakin' of Kurama—"

"I jus' saw 'im—"

"—he said something totally weird's goin' on!"

"—an' he thinks the one behind it's a girl he knows!"

Both boys suddenly eyed each other in surprise. "You _know_ what's up with Kurama?"

* * *

_What is wrong with me?_ An uncomfortable Kurama gripped the underside of a brown bag filled with recently purchased grocery items. He cast a sidelong glance at the brown-haired, brown-eyed girl contentedly carrying another grocery bag on his left. _This is Kitajima. Just a _ningen_ girl. Nothing suspicious about her at all._

He sighed to himself. _Have I grown accustomed to—_

"You know, Minamino-_kun_," Maya spoke up from out of the blue, a warm, distant gaze lost in the contents of the bag in her arms. "This isn't the first time you walked me home."

_I know_. "_Aa_."

* * *

_The moon was full that night. They must have walked the long way—they were passing along Fuji-_san_'s newly painted picket fence._

_One hand clutching his book bag at his side, he jammed his other hand in his pants pocket. The boys' uniform was blue back then, in their junior high school days._

"_Kitajima, you really should be getting home soon…"_

"_But you haven't answered my question! Just say it! I'm ready… I'm listening… " _

_She gazed at the nape of his neck, elegantly framed by flyaway wisps of rose-red hair._

* * *

She gazed at the nape of his neck as she followed him up the carpeted staircase, and gasped upon finally noticing the rippling wave of rose-red hair elegantly cascading all the way down his back. "Minamino-_kun_, I can't see your neck anymore! You let your hair grow!"

_Aa. So I did._ Kurama smiled to himself.

"_May I ask why you keep your hair long?" asked the_ ningen_ girl whose name he did not yet know. "Oh. I just did. _Mengo."

"Just a personal preference," he offered as explanation—to both Maya and the anonymous girl in his memories.

"_Has anyone ever told you that your hair resembles the tail of an animal? A furry animal. Like a fox."_

"I think you look much better with short hair."

A gasp nearly escaped his throat. As Maya slotted her house key inside the knob of the door before them, Kurama hung his head low. _What was I thinking? Of course they're not the same…_

She turned the front knob of the Kitajima apartment, slipped out of her high-heeled sandals, and stepped inside. "Hello? Kaname-_chan_, are you back now? Anybody home?"

A downcast green gaze dwindled on the magazine on top of the Hagiri-Kitajima living room table. _Must be a science journal._ What gave it away to Kurama were the full-scale photo of Jupiter and its moons, and the banner title of the issue:

LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS:  
Is It Possible?

* * *

"_There_ are_ other worlds aside from ours! And there_ is _life in them!"_

_Even from his seat at the far corner of their classroom—even when he turned to face the opened sliding window next to him—he could still hear a small, shrill soprano ranting from beside the blackboard._

_Minamino Shuuichi, the ever-studious, ever-silent valedictorian of the entire freshman batch of Meiou Junior High School, finally looked up from the book that he was reading._

"_Just because we haven't proven them doesn't mean there aren't any!" One of the girls from his class excitedly flailed her arms at her sides, passionately standing up for what she believed in. "Just ask yourself this!" The brunette challenged a taller girl. "Do we live forever?"_

_As more and more of his curious classmates crowded around the outspoken, opinionated young girl, Kurama found himself losing interest in his reading material and eavesdropping in spite of himself._

"_No! We die! And when we die, do we stay in this world?" She paused, actually posing the question to her attentive but skeptical audience. "Some of us do! Those with unfinished business in this world!_ They're_ the ones we call 'ghosts'!"_

_Amidst a bustle of hushed remarks and commentary, an especially sensitive female classmate cringed and spoke up. "That's scary, Maya-_chan_!"_

"_However, I must admit—" Batch salutatorian Kaitou Yuu pushed his thick, oversized glasses up the bridge of his nose. "—you are on to something there, Kitajima."_

_The redhead loner silently sitting in the corner of the Year One Section Three classroom pinched his chin in thought._ Kitajima Maya. So she believes in ghosts…

_The girl named Maya took no notice of the general goings-on surrounding her and went on as if she was never interrupted in the first place. "But most of the dead_ don't_ stay in our world. They move on to 'the next' world—where they are judged!"_

… And the afterlife as well, _concluded Kurama to himself._ If only she knew the name of that world she's referring to is _Reikai…_

"_But Heaven isn't another world! It's…" A short, stout boy pointed out. "… Heaven!"_

"_That's not it!" Maya shook her head. "The world I mean is not the Heaven you think! Lots of people imagine Heaven as a paradise above our clouds, where dead people roam and relax and play as if they're still alive. But the world _I_ imagine they go to is not as fancy as that. I think it would look like something simpler—something we're very familiar with right here in our world!"_

_Several captivated students unwittingly voiced Kurama's very thought for him. "What would it look like, then?" _

"_It could be a building of a business company!"_

Has this _ningen_ girl _been_ to _Reikai_ and lived to tell about it?_ Kurama blinked, his curiosity of the girl becoming more and more roused with each new theory of hers._

_Dismissing her classmates' gasps and outbursts of inquiry and protest, Maya explained herself further. "In that world, they have records of us—all of us. And just like a business company, they keep files—of everything we say and do!"_

_Kurama finally tore his gaze from the crowd and returned it to his book. _That _ningen_ girl… She must have great spiritual awareness.

"_But you know,_ minna_, that's not the only other world I believe in!" continued Maya, an intensely determined look on her face. "Maybe, somewhere out there, monsters exist in their own world!"_

_An interested boy piped up. "What kinds of monsters, Kitajima?"_

"_Those with powers beyond any human being!" Maya stretched her fingers and arms out, gesturing the immensity of those "powers" of which she spoke. "Maybe they can control the elements, like fire, water, and earth! Maybe they don't need guns, because they can shoot right from their fingertips!"_

The _ningen_ imagination… _Lips hidden beneath an open book curled up in secret._ Incredible.

"_What if maybe, just maybe…"_

_All fell still and silent, waiting for Kitajima Maya's near-realistic revelation with bated breath._

"… _They walk among us, looking like humans but still powerful like monsters, and we didn't know?"_

* * *

_The first time I ever noticed you, I thought you knew about me._

Kurama looked up.

"Thank you for helping me carry my groceries, Minamino-_kun_!" Maya relieved his hands of an overstuffed brown bag. "I can take it from here. Please, make yourself at home! Do you want anything?"

"_Iiya_." He shook his head and held his hands up, politely refusing her offer. "I should be on my way—"

"Already?" Maya's shoulders sank in dejection from his rejection. She plunked her grocery bags on the tabletop before her. "You can't leave now! You haven't told me any of your past adventures yet!"

"_Adventures"? If only you knew…_

Kurama shot a glance at his wristwatch. _I suppose it's all right. _'Kaa-san _doesn't expect me to be home until dark anyway._ He sighed and took a seat on the couch beside the table with the magazine on top. "All right, Kitajima. I will stay awhile."

Upon hearing his response, she clasped her hands together and held her breath, brown eyes twinkling in glee. "That's good! I'll get you something to eat!"

As Maya pushed and strode through the kitchen door, Kurama's eyes settled on the magazine cover. A split second later, the door swiveled open again. "Minamino-_kun_, which would you like bet—" She blinked. "What are you looking at?"

"Ah," Kurama looked up at her and took hold of the magazine that had caught his eye. "Just this."

"Oh, _that_!" Maya suddenly found herself laughing in embarrassment. "I have a monthly subscription to that journal! I know, it's stupid—"

"_Chigau_. Not at all."

"It is! You're just saying that because you're naturally nice!" The genuineness of her words showed in her grin. "I haven't changed much since junior high. Do you remember when I used to stand in front and talk about other worlds out there?"

"_Aa_." _And you were the most interesting_ ningen_ I knew._

"You can call me stubborn, but I still believe in those worlds until now!"

"You have always believed in many unexplained phenomena, Kitajima."

"And _you've_ always told me there's a more realistic explanation to everything!"

* * *

"_Again?" exclaimed a boy with freckles._

"_Yeah!" confirmed their class representative. "More students have disappeared!"_

"_I know them!" gasped a girl in a braided ponytail._

_Her best friend clung on to her, frightened by the news. "It's scary!"_

"_What if it's a supernatural phenomenon?" suggested one of the tallest boys in their class._

"_I'm sure it is!" A girl with light, curly hair shot her hand up, affirming her agreement. "This story's too weird!"_

_In their third year of junior high, Maya was the only girl in class who refused to wear neither the girls' ribbon nor her hair in a ponytail. Both were Meiou regulations, but she didn't mind violating the rules. Apparently, puberty had just possessed nearly all the boys in their class—a solid two years later than it did the girls—but_ they _were not as comfortable with themselves and their bodily changes. Much to the girls' (great) annoyance, the boys had taken to pulling everything they could—from the girls' skirts to their ribbons to their hair. _

_Puberty perverted them. As if they weren't already._

_So Maya wore a belt with her skirt, disposed of her ribbon altogether, and kept her auburn hair tied in a high bun and pinned closely to her scalp. Her hair may have appeared shorter than every other girl's in their class, but she didn't mind that, either._

_Just as long as one particularly admirable boy in class remained his mature, exemplary, "non-pulling" self, she thought everything was still fine._

_And speaking of the devil—no, the angel—there he was. "Minamino_-kun_!" She called out to him. "What do_ you_ think?"_

_His perspective of the world always mattered to her. After all, he was the most intelligent student in their entire year. Not only did he consistently best everyone else grade-wise; he also exuded an air of tranquil wisdom undoubtedly beyond their years. All his classmates were quick to notice this uncommon maturity of his. But while everyone would eagerly listen to his answers with breathless awe, no one would truly dare to approach and ask him at all._

_That is, no one but Maya. _

No one else really cares for my opinion, _Kurama thought to himself._ But Kitajima…

… She really cares for no one else's opinion but mine.

_After a long pause, the strong, silent Shuuichi finally spoke up. "They must have run away."_

"_If you were trying to be funny, well, it didn't work! That's not it!" Maya bickered back, her left arm flailing excitedly at her side. "It could have been aliens! Vampires! A cult! They could have been sucked into a black hole!"_

"_Those are not possible."_

"_Why not?" She pouted defiantly. "But they're everywhere! Don't you watch TV?"_

* * *

"I used to think you weren't allowed to watch TV at home, because you never once even stopped to consider that those supernatural things on TV could all be real!" confessed Maya, trudging back to the kitchen. "But even if you didn't believe in them, I've always felt you know more about them than I do."

She pushed the kitchen door open and went inside, leaving a faint whisper in her wake.

"I've always felt there was something special about you."

* * *

"_KUUURAMAAAAA…" moaned the two-horned demon blob slowly emerging from the corner of the Meiou Junior High School east wing hallway. It had lain in wait between the cracks in the wall until the young human form of Youko Kurama chanced to pass by the hall alone._

The Hedoki_._ _Kurama's eyes narrowed. "Didn't I tell you last time never to come back to this city again?"_

_The monstrous mucky puddle emitted gruesome slurping noises as it took living form. "You can't tell me what to do now! I now have an ally who's stronger than you can ever imagine! We'll kill you, Kurama! And this city will be_ ours_!"_

_The unthreatened Kurama flicked a poisonous seed from his thumb in his opponent's direction. The Hedoki zipped away from his attack and broke through a glass window, laughing evilly as it escaped._

I don't want to use my powers, but they leave me no choice. _Kurama's fists clenched at his sides._ I have to fight. I won't share this city—

"_What was_ that_? A ghost?"_

_Kurama froze._ Kitajima—!

_She had been behind him the whole time!_

"_I saw everything! It was terrible, Minamino_-kun_!" She cried, clasping her trembling hands together and holding them to her heart in fear. "I've never seen anything like it before!"_

She saw it? _Kurama whirled to face her, his expression calm and somewhat amused—as though he himself had encountered nothing amiss at all. "You are mistaken, Kitajima. You were just seeing things."_

Her spiritual awareness has strengthened from being around me, _he realized._ I never would have thought…

"_You don't have to make fun of me!" A frown crossing her face, Maya pointed at him, accusing him of actually knowing—and depriving her of—the truth. "I've always_ known _there was something special about you! What were you talking to it about?"_

_A lump caught in Kurama's throat. He looked at her squarely, not knowing what to say—and not wanting to say anything, either. "Kitajima…"_

_But he soon found that he needed not explain himself after all._

_Just as suddenly as her temper flared, Maya clapped her hands together, closed her eyes, and gushed dreamily to herself. "I always_ knew _you were different from everyone else, Minamino-_kun_! I've always dreamed of meeting someone like you!" _

* * *

"_I've always dreamed of meeting someone like you," Setsu tucked her hands behind her back and clasped them together, facing straight ahead and refusing to meet his eyes._

"_You are the weirdest gardener I have ever met."_

Kurama sweat-dropped, relieved that Maya was in the kitchen as he did so.

_Stop,_ he demanded of himself. _They're not the same!_

* * *

_Maya lightly touched her lips, as if imagining her first kiss. "I can't believe it—my first love is so unique! It's so romantic!"_

_Kurama froze again. _Your first…

… Love…?

_Her cheeks stained in pink, she looked up from her romantic reverie. "You mean you didn't know…?"_

* * *

_I…_

Loose strands of red eclipsed distant green eyes.

A curvy hip nudged the kitchen door open. A widely grinning Maya stepped back into her living room with a frilly apron around her neck and waist, gloves on her hands, and a plate in her grip. "Here, Minamino-_kun_!"

She set the platter in front of him.

"_Onigiri._" Green orbs widened in surprise. _The first food you ever gave to me…_

* * *

_The lunch bell._

_She had looked forward to that tiny, tinny ring all midmorning._

_A physically and mentally exhausted Maya slipped out of her white lab coat, sighing deeply. "I thought that experiment would never end!"_

"_Me too!" The girl at her right nodded, closing her notebook shut. "I'm hungry!"_

_As Maya and her seatmate headed to the door of the laboratory, a girl with a light orange headband caught up to them and clapped her hands on their shoulders. "So girls, what're we having for lunch?"_

"_I made_ onigiri_ this morning!" Maya declared proudly. She had finally gotten around to preparing her own lunch for the first time. She was aware that it was but a small accomplishment, yet it made her feel big. Somehow, she was more independent now than she was yesterday. _

"_Me too!" The girl still at her right nodded again._

"Nani?"_ cried the girl with the strikingly bright hair accessory. "But_ I _brought_ onigiri _for lunch, too!"_

_The three traded blank looks and blinks. Suddenly Maya grinned. "Well, what can I say? Great minds think alike!"_

_As her best friends laughed, Maya's curious chocolate eyes darted left and right. "I wonder where he is…"_

* * *

_Maya lifted the lid off her heart-shaped pink_ bento _box. "I haven't seen Minamino-_kun _since lab." Her face wrinkled with worry. "Maybe he hasn't eaten yet… I could share my lunch with him…"_

"_Oh, no!" gasped the girl with the hair band._

_The girl to her right nodded yet again. "What happened to your_ onigiri_?"_

"_Why? What's wrong with them?" Maya blinked at the contents of her own lunchbox. The rice cakes that she had prepared were misshapen and messy. Random rice grains stuck out from the surfaces of the balls. Inside the_ bento _boxes next to hers, however, her friends' "proper"-looking rice balls were incontestably more appetizing than the ones she had made._

"_Wow!" exclaimed a thoroughly impressed Maya, lightly touching her lips. "Your_ onigiri_ sure looks better than mine!"_

"_You used long-grain rice, so they didn't stick too well." _

_The girl to her right, as always, nodded. "You should have used the short-grain sticky kind. They're marked in stores as_ sushi_ rice."_

"_Ohhh!" breathed a now enlightened Maya. "Yeah, I've seen that in convenience stores! I'll use that kind of rice next time!" She clapped her hands together in excitement. "I know better now! Thank you for your advice!" Suddenly she looked down at her own lunchbox with disappointment. "But does that mean these are no good?"_

"_They're still edible, Maya-_chan."

"_Could I still give these to Minamino-_kun_? You know,_ _just in case he hasn't had his lunch yet?"_

"_Of course," nodded the girl to her right, popping a perfectly molded triangular rice ball in her mouth. "But—"_

_No later than she had expressed her approval did Maya break into a mad dash towards the biology laboratory. "I'll be right back!"_

_The two girls she left behind exchanged knowing looks and girlish giggles. "Maya_-chan_ is so hopeless!"_

* * *

_A gloved hand raised a beaker to level with goggle-protected green eyes. _

"_Ten milliliters," Kurama mumbled to himself, retrieved the pencil from behind his ear, and jotted down his new findings in his notebook. "An acidic reaction…"_

_Maya skidded to a stop right by the doorway and found her ever-diligent beloved still in the laboratory, alone. "Minamino_-kun_!"_

_Racing a mile a minute until that very moment, Kurama's mind suddenly went blank. "Kitajima…"_

"_Why are you still here?" A faint blush creeping up her cheeks, she strode into the experiment room, keeping her lunchbox behind her and away from his view. "It's lunchtime! Aren't you hungry?"_

"_Almost done," he motioned to the Petri dish on the table before him. "I will get my lunch soon."_

"_Y-You don't have to buy anything!" stammered a suddenly shy, self-conscious Maya, now red as a tomato from ear to ear. She clumsily plopped a pink plastic box next to his notebook, its heart-shaped lid toppling open. "H-Here—you can have_ my_ lunch! It's _onigiri_!"_

"_Kitajima, I—"_

"_It's okay if you wouldn't like it!" insisted Maya, slowly stepping away from her_ bento_ box and campus crush. "I was still sleepy when I was rolling them, and I used long-grain instead of_ sushi_ rice, so they came out all wrong! But I hope you'll enjoy them anyway!" Creamy caramel eyes threatening to spill tears at any given moment, Maya bowed to Kurama and ran right out of the room._

"Demo—"_ A green glance shot from the door to the contents of the pink lunchbox._ I wasn't going to buy anything. _'Kaa-san_ prepared my lunch, and I was supposed to get it from our room once I'm finished with this…

_He discovered a folded piece of paper in between two lumpy, cracked rice balls._ Nani? _He picked up the note and unfolded it._

"_I promise to do my very best to improve my_ onigiri-_making! I will give you better_ onigiri_ next time! Please eat, Minamino_-kun_!"_

_A pair of lips parted… sighed… "You didn't have to…"_

… _And curled up in secret._

"… _Kitajima…"_

* * *

Maya grinned at him sweetly. "_Un!_"

Kurama studied a rice cake with rabbit ears. Maya had become quite creative with seaweed—thin, fine strips of it were the animal's whiskers; tiny balls of it served as eyes. "Your _onigiri_-making has improved greatly, Kitajima."

His compliment warmed her cheeks and tickled her pink. She clasped her hands to her heart as she watched him bite into her own culinary creation. "I'm so glad to hear that!"

He smiled at her, a growing discomfort tugging at his subconscious. _After all these years…_

She straightened out her apron and skirt and sat beside him, an involuntary blush shrouding her face. From the corner of her eye, she could not help but take notice of the knee next to her own. His legs were much longer now… more muscular. She had never before realized how… sexy… they looked in tight denim jeans. She had seen them only in the pants of their former school uniform until now.

She giggled shamelessly to herself as she reached for a thick, white book-like object underneath the living room table.

Kurama gulped down his rice ball, rabbit ears and all. "_Dooshita_?"

Maya shook her head, keeping her mischievous thoughts to herself. She opened the book to its first page. "Look, Minamino-_kun_! I kept a picture of this!"

Green eyes settled on the photo in the album spread out on Maya's lap. "_Aa,_" Kurama eyed the dense forest foliage in the background. "Our class field trip."

In the photograph before them were around thirty teenage students, each striking a pose unique from all the rest. In one corner, boys playfully wrestled with each other; in the other, they locked arms in a pact as a manifestation of their youthful, yet promising concept of "brotherhood." While some girls blushed and cutely raised their pointer and middle fingers up to form a V shape—a "victory" or "peace" sign—others positioned their V-fingers right above their classmates' heads, lending them either bunny ears or horns (depending on whether they got along with them or not).

Maya found her deeply smiling and blushing thirteen-year-old self lost in the middle of her old class picture, in the arms of a female friend whom she affectionately glomped in return. Her eyes drifted along a line of young, pudgy faces, searching for the breathtakingly beautiful one that had always managed to destabilize her heart rate and blood pressure simply by appearing before her.

And there it was.

The thirteen-year-old Minamino Shuuichi merely stood at the very edge of the picture, his hands stuffed in his pants pockets, neither his lips nor his eyes smiling for the camera.

Maya suddenly pouted and turned to face the real thing right beside her. "You know, Minamino-_kun_, if I hadn't asked you to join us, you wouldn't have been in this picture at all!"

Kurama blinked. "_Asked"? You dragged me by the arm!_

"You were really a loner. It's like you didn't even _want_ any friends!"

_At that time, my wounds were already more than fully recovered._ Green eyes narrowed as he recalled his close encounter with the _Reikai_ hunter who had shot and fatally injured him. _In fact, I had overstayed my welcome. Thirteen years were more than I had originally planned._ They eyed brown orbs, explaining themselves tacitly, telepathically._ I had been thinking of leaving_ Ningenkai_ for good. I did not want to involve myself with_ ningen_ I knew I would eventually leave behind._

"It's like you were always so… far away from us," sighed Maya. "Someone _had_ to reach out to you. To pull you back in with the rest of us!"

He didn't really know how to answer that. So he didn't.

"And I…" She buried her face in her hands, somehow hiding herself from him. "_I_ wanted to do just that! I took it upon myself, because… because I…"

She could not go on.

_Kitajima…_

Suddenly she felt a warm hand clasp her shoulder. "I've changed, Kitajima."

She gasped and peeked at him from behind her fingers. "Minamino-_kun_…"

"_Jitsu wa_," he looked up thoughtfully, his gaze distant. "Back then I thought we had something in common."

"We did?" She bolted and sat upright, blinking at him curiously. "What?"

He chuckled to himself. "You strayed from the crowd."

* * *

_A pair of cleats trampled over crisp, withered leaves, clearing a path for eleven pairs of hiking boots trailing behind them. Twelve students from Year Two Class Five leapt over hulking tree roots and thick shrubs, trekking through the legendary, mystical Mount Kurama in excited yet fearful search of the_ tengu_ that inhabited its deep, dark woods._

"_But Maya_-chan, _we're getting farther and farther away!"_

"_Yeah! I can't even see our bus from here anymore!"_

_A compact digital camera was tied to a rubber string around her neck. Maya whirled behind her and aimed the shutter at her companions, who were losing more and more interest in their quest with every onward step they took. Upon seeing their less than picture perfect faces, she let go of the cam and planted her hands on her hips._ "Minna, _how do you expect us to find that_ tengu _if we just stay near our bus?_ Of course_ we have to go deeper into the forest!"_

_From the corner of her eye, a girl with a water jug spotted two pairs of golden eyes glowing from beneath a nearby bush. When she blinked and looked again, they were gone. She shuddered violently. "But it's getting really, really creepy out here!"_

"Buh!" _dismissed Maya. "Come on, when will we_ ever _get another chance to go all the way to Kyoto to visit Mount Kurama again? We're already here! We might as well see with our own eyes if that_ tengu_ is real or not_ right now_!"_

_Suddenly the trees in their midst rustled and swayed—but none of them felt any wind. Flocks of heavy wings flapped high above them. Squawks and hisses grew louder, shadows longer, all surrounding them, cornering them in that desolate clearing._

"_That's it!" exclaimed the boy with the only flashlight in their group. "I'm going back to our camp!"_

"_Me too!"_

"_I'm coming with you!"_

"_Hey, guys! Wait up!"_

"_WHAT?" Maya yelled towards eleven unanimously retreating backs, her arms wildly flailing at her sides. "YOU GUYS, COME BACK!"_

_But the last student to leave had already disappeared between the bushes._

"_Oh, well!" A disappointed hand resignedly reached for a camera. "I'll just take pictures of the_ tengu_ for them, then!"_

_Her trusty camera in hand, the adventurous, fearless girl squeezed herself in between two old, winding tree trunks curiously coiled together and wriggled through until she broke free. _

* * *

"_Hmph." His brows deeply furrowed, Kaitou Yuu pushed his spectacles up his nose, a glint of sunlight blurring the lens and obscuring his eyes from everyone's view. "That Minamino. Over thirty miles away from school and_ still _studying like there's no tomorrow!"_

_The light-haired boy beside him chuckled evilly. "Dork prob'ly thinks there's gonna be some test on Mount Kurama or somethin'."_

_Casually sitting beneath a shady tree, his back against its trunk, Kurama instinctively looked up from his Mathematics textbook._ So far, not even Kaitou has noticed that I respond to the name, _he thought to himself, pressing his hand against grassy earth._ I am in Kurama-_Yama_. _His gaze fell to the blades of grass between his fingers._ How ironic.

"_Dude, seen that Maya babe 'round 'ere yet?" _

"_I should think you would know the answer to that better than I." Beneath his thick opaque glasses, Kaitou's eyes narrowed. "Wasn't she with you all this time?"_

"_Nope, didn't come back 'ere with us. So she still ain't back, huh?"_

"_Perhaps still trying to prove the existence of the mythical_ tengu. _A waste of time, if I may say so myself."_

_Kurama froze, green eyes widened_. They left her out there?

"_But y' know, she better be back 'ere soon! Teach'_ _jus' said we're ditchin' this joint in ten minutes!"_

_Kaitou and his friend then caught sudden sight of a Math book plopping onto soft grass and a flash of red furiously bolting into the woods._

* * *

_A bead of sweat trickling down his brow, Kurama ran as fast as his legs could carry him._ Kitajima! _He eyed the ground closely, following the footprints in the mud. Soon he came to a clearing, where heaps upon heaps of fallen leaves carpeted the forest floor. He had lost track of her._

She could have thought to leave traces of her behind! _He silently told himself between gritted teeth._ Crumbs would have sufficed!

_But she somehow did. He saw it—a trail of trodden leaves, crushed one after the other, leading further into the wood._ Only _ningen_ feet could have done this_, he pointed out to himself_. This way!

_He jumped onto a sturdy branch and skillfully leapt from tree to tree, surveying the ground for more signs of his missing classmate. From the distance, his eyes could make out a large brown pit._ Quicksand!

"MASAKA! _I'M SINKING!"_

_A gasp escaped Kurama's lips. Crawling and clawing her way out of the deepest bank of the ditch was Maya herself._ Kitajima!

_A few steps away from the muddy crater, a hideous, beaked goblin with black wings hid behind a veil of tall, leafy trees._ The _karasu-tengu_! It trapped her!

I mustn't let her know of me, but I have to save her!

_Kurama closed his eyes, summoned all his_ youki,_ and willed the trees immediately surrounding the crow_ tengu_ to close in on the enormous beast. When his eyelids snapped back open, the supernaturally felled logs instantly came crashing down on the goblin, their branches and leaves swallowing the black demon bird alive. _

_Maya gasped. "W-W-What's happening?" she stammered, the ghastly dying wail of the_ tengu_ and the thunderous collision of collapsed trees frightening and deafening her all at once. "It's too loud!"_

_Unable to bear any more of the violent crashes and cries, she shut her eyes tightly and clamped her hands over her ears, losing grip of the only solid, stony surface within her reach. "OH NO!" She sank deeper and deeper into the hollow. The body-sucking sand had already taken her camera. She would follow it any time now. "I'm going to die!"_

_This was it—the end. Why wasn't her life flashing before her eyes? Was it too short? Too forgettable? Too meaningless?_

_Could she still somehow live through this? Could she hope against hope?_

"_Minamino_-kun…_"_

_She suddenly regretted never confessing to her beloved that all this time, she…_

* * *

"—_ya_-chan_! Wake up, Maya_-chan_! You're safe now!"_

_To Maya, their_ Sensei_'s croaky, raspy voice had always sounded like sharp, overgrown nails scratching on a newly waxed chalkboard. But now, it was strangely comforting._

_Weak, heavy eyelids fluttered open. "W… Where am I?"_

"_We're all in the bus, Maya_-chan." _The adviser of Year Two Class Five brushed loose brown strands away from her now awakened student's forehead. "You're safe now."_

_Maya blinked the blur away. "W…" She still could not find her voice. "What… happened…? I was… I was about… to die…"_

"_Nonsense, Maya_-chan_!" The elderly woman in Meiou faculty uniform shushed her without hesitation, discouraging her from entertaining such morbid thoughts. "You just went too far into the woods and got lost. It was a good thing Shuuichi_-kun _found you!"_

_Dazed, disoriented brown eyes slowly glanced around, looking for a splash of red amidst the heads bobbing from the rows and rows of seats on their school bus. "Mina… mino…_ kun…_"_

* * *

"Even when the most fearless of them retreated, you pressed on."

"You mean I foolishly braved the woods just to know for myself if _tengu_ really existed in that Mount Kurama," Maya smiled sheepishly at their class picture. "But I still wasn't able to prove it!"

She sighed in frustration and frowned upon herself.

Kurama eyed her closely. _If only you knew that not only do they exist; one almost abducted you…_

"But you know, Minamino-_kun_, I remember hearing a very loud sound," she suddenly pointed out, nodding to herself. "It sounded like a bird. Maybe _that_ was the cry of a _tengu_!"

"It couldn't have been. It must have been an eagle. Or an owl."

"That's not it! It sounded too big to be just those kinds of birds! It _must_ have been a _tengu_!"

_Kitajima. Still so stubborn._ Kurama sighed to himself. "Did you actually see it?"

"No, but—"

"Then it wasn't."

"_Buh!_" spat Maya in disagreement, folding her arms across her chest and pouting cutely.

_If I had to save you from it, then it would be best for you not to know what it was,_ Kurama told her in his mind. _And to think it wasn't the last time I saved you…_

* * *

"_But you haven't answered my question! Just say it! I'm ready… I'm listening…"_

_A lump caught in Kurama's throat._

"I really, really like you, Minamino-_kun_!" Maya confessed loudly, everything about her tightening—her already tightly shut eyelids, her grip on the handle of her book bag, her resolve. "And I need to know—"

Kitajima—

"—Do you like me, too?"

_Kurama winced inwardly at the mere memory._ This isn't going to be easy…

_The early evening train came right on schedule, its telltale bell ringing as it crossed the old railroad track a few meters behind them. Both Kurama and Maya listened to its chug and chime in shared silence._

_As the whirr of the last train coach died away in the distance, Kurama braced himself and took a long, deep breath._

"Warii kedo."

_Maya bit back a gasp. Both her gaze and shoulders sank. Countless times had her mind's eye already played and replayed this fateful moment all throughout their junior high school years, yet her heart was still infinitely unprepared for it. Much as she had already expected the well-mannered but uninterested Kurama to reject her in the form of an apology—for even crueler, far worse responses had crossed her mind—the words still stung. They pained much, much more than just her ears. _

_A fourteen-year-old's passionate schoolgirl crush had just been crushed. The bigger they were, the harder they fell, indeed. This held true for infatuation as well. She understood it now._

"Wakatta." _Unspoken, unspeakable sorrow quieted what was once so melodious a voice. "I should just go home now…"_

Ieru wakenai ja nai ka… hontou no kimochi… _Kurama walked faster, overtaking her, absolutely refusing to meet her eyes._ If I tell her, I might put her in danger…

_Suddenly he sensed danger hanging heavy in the air. The_ Hedoki. _It was coming for him—any second now. _

Kisama, _he silently swore to his approaching enemy. _Not now. Can't you see I'm in—

_But he had no more time to think. He clapped a restraining hand on a retreating Maya's shoulder. "Kitajima!"_

"_Huh?" _

"Abunai!" _Kurama dropped his book bag and scooped Maya in his arms just in time to dodge a sudden aerial attack._

"KYAAA!"_ screamed Maya, losing grip of her book bag as well. "What's happening?"_

It's fast! _A cold bead of sweat formed on his brow._ It's much faster than it was before!

_From out of nowhere, a merciless-looking man in a black robe and a white blindfold around his forehead suddenly materialized before them, wielding a long sword with his right hand. "You dodged?"_

It's not the _Hedoki_! _The bead trickled down his face, dripped off his chin, and fell on Maya's forehead._

_Shivering from both the cold of what could possibly be his fear—though if he truly felt such an emotion at that time, he did not let it get the better of him in any way—as well as from her own, Maya took it all in as best she could. It was really happening. Her beloved Minamino_-kun _was_ actually _carrying her. His left hand lifted her by her legs—the back of her knees in particular. His right hand pressed against her back._

_Boy, he smelled good. _

"_Are you all right?" A suddenly overwhelmingly serious Kurama asked Maya without even looking at her. He was eyeing the newcomer coldly, threateningly._

"_Yes," Maya found herself answering in an unusually tiny voice. "He's so strong…" She whispered dreamily to herself, soft earth-brown eyes admiring sharp grass-green above them. "What about you? Aren't I too heavy for you?"_

"_This isn't the time!"_

_A gasp broke from her lips. Never in their many years together had she seen her classmate and childhood love so serious, so… dangerous. Either he_ did _find her body weight inconveniently burdensome and adamantly—almost angrily—refused to admit it, or perhaps he had always had an edgy, combative side to him of which she never knew… of which no one in their class, their year, or even their school ever knew…_

_Kurama gently set Maya on the ground._ She had already seen the _Hedoki_ earlier today, anyway…_ His hand plunged into his still-short hair and whipped out a long blade of grass._ I'll do what I must when this is over. _The leaf instantly stretched out into a sword._

_His dark, menacing new enemy gasped._ "Shokubutsu ka?"

"_KITAJIMA!" Kurama yelled over his shoulder as his and his unnamed opponent's blades swashed, clashed, and grinded._ "NIGERO!"

I need a change of terrain! _Lightning-fast green eyes bolted from his challenger to his companion._ I need to take this as far away from Kitajima as possible!

_Without another thought, Kurama stole away into the night, his attacker in hot pursuit of him, both of them leaving Maya still kneeling on the ground. Her tightly rolled-up and pinned hair now all disheveled and sticking out in all the wrong places, she tucked her violently trembling hands in between her legs and stared off into the distance._

_What had just happened? Why was that short man with out-of-this-world hair after Minamino_-kun_? Where did they go? Will she ever see her beloved again? When?_

_She_ had _to see him again._

_His shampoo hinted of a mild, most natural fragrance of rose petals. She just_ had_ to ask him for its brand someday! Even if only just to get to talk to him again after all this._

_Unbeknownst to her, a man possessed by a certain blob demon was creeping ever closer to her from behind, about to capture her as an offering to its child-eating master…_

* * *

Arms still folded across a lacy, frilly, apron-clothed chest, Maya muttered angrily to herself.

Kurama eyed her closely.

_Had I known that the_ Hedoki _had set his sights on her, I wouldn't have fought Hiei for so long… I wouldn't have tended his wound… _

… _I wouldn't have left her behind…_

* * *

_A now fully recovered Hiei stepped on Kurama's bedroom windowsill. "Your naiveté will be the end of you one day."_

_Sitting on the carpeted floor by his bedroom window, Kurama turned to face the small yet stoic demon who now owed him a debt of gratitude, yet he knew would never thank him—at least aloud—in both their lifetimes. "What's your name?"_

_The demon with the blindfolded eye threw a sidelong glare at him. After a long pause, he uttered "Hiei" to the wind, and leapt out of the open window._

_Suddenly the telephone in the first floor of the Minamino home rang. Kurama rose, strode downstairs, and picked up the receiver, jamming his free hand into his pants pocket._ "Hai. _Minamino_ desu."

"_Minamino_-kun_, i__t's me, Tasaka!" exclaimed a female voice on the other line. _

_A gasp caught in his throat._ Kitajima's housemaid…! But why—

"_Is Maya with you? She still isn't home!"_

_The gasp from earlier finally escaped his lips._ Kitajima! She must have been—!

_The distressed woman on the other end had not even finished speaking when he hung up and traced the tracks of that demon named Hiei._

* * *

_That call…_

… _You worried me._

"Minamino-_kun_?"

"_Hai._"

"Why did you follow me into the forest that time?"

Grass green eyes refused to meet earth brown. "We all did," he lied. "I just found you first."

_You don't need to know that no one else looked for you… that they all feared for their lives…_

_You also don't need to know that…_

… _You really worried me._

* * *

"_Hmph." Demonic lips twisted into the form with which they were most comfortable—a condescending, mocking sneer._

_Hiei did not even see the need to look over his shoulder. He could hear him, smell him. The young human boy with the old demon scent… He was close behind him._

"_I'm coming with you," said the redhead resolutely, caring nothing for what the other demon will think or say._

"_Oh, really." Hiei snapped sarcastically. So the demon in human disguise could not resist a promisingly bloody battle after all. "Why?"_

"_I have my reasons."_

_Hiei knew just what—who—they were. "Because of that girl, right?"_

"_Don't be so sure of yourself."_

_But both of them knew each other now. Despite his very inhumanity, Hiei had displayed a most human sense of sacrifice when he had willingly endured the pain of a_ jagan _implantation just to find the "Yukina" of whom he had spoken in his sleep. Kurama was not only already human in form; he had also learned to attach value to the safety—to the very lives!—of other humans, such as "that girl" with whom Hiei saw him earlier. Both of them were cold… numb… lethal. Yet somehow… vulnerable. _

_They were still at odds. But for now, a demon—stronger and more sinful than they—took advantage of their very weaknesses. They won't let him get away with that. No. Not for long. _

Yatsude! _Both shouted out in silence._ I'm coming after you!

_Kurama and Hiei. They were now comrades-in-arms, fellow demons with a bond forged in blood._

* * *

"_You kidnapped a girl today. Where is she?" _

_Merciless, unforgiving green eyes glared at the giant gluttonous demon before them, threatening to take its life at any split second. They no longer saw Hiei poised to attack from somewhere beside them… the eerily moving shadows on the dilapidated walls of the old, long-abandoned doll factory… the wreckage of shattered mannequins and severed doll parts scattered on the bloodstained floor… the leftover gnawed limbs of his three male classmates who had mysteriously disappeared not too long ago… a gooey blob of spit that was once the_ Hedoki_… _

Preying on _ningen_ children. And even consuming the very _youkai_ who brought you the young that you feed upon! _Kurama eyed the child-devouring demon dirtily, imaginarily ripping it to shreds without remorse._ Despicable traitor! You deserve a fate worse than death!

"_Oh, you know her?" cheekily asked the demon with six arms—two on its left arm socket, two on its right, and two on either side of its hideous undersized head. "I'll give you a clue."_

_Yatsude proudly held up a small human foot by its big toe. It was torn at—and dripping fresh blood from—the knee. "What's this?"_

MASAKA! IT CAN'T BE! KITAJIMA! _Short red hair suddenly stood on end._ "KISAMA!"

_A disbelieving, deadly Kurama lunged towards Yatsude and launched his first salvo of attacks._

* * *

"_Kitajima!"_

Yatsude lied, _Kurama told himself as he pushed two dusty barrels aside and peered beyond the cobwebs in between them._ He must have!

_And there she was, behind those very barrels. Kurama silently observed her shoulders rise and fall slightly._ Her breathing is steady, _he noted to himself._ Unconscious, but alive.

_When Maya came to, she found her cheek nestled on a broad, warm shoulder and her chest pressed against a firm—and just as warm—back. _

"_Minamino_-kun_…" she murmured slowly, still in a dazed, dreamy trance. Why was he giving her a piggyback ride? Had she fallen asleep while they were together? But how? "What…?"_

_She could not go on._

_Suddenly, a bright white glow blinded her. _

Forgive me, _Kurama hung his head low, hiding his eyes beneath his hair._ Kitajima.

This is all for the best.

_But Maya did not seem to mind at all. "Sou ka…" The effect of the Pollen of Forgetfulness on her was immediate. "I must have been dreaming…"_

"Aa," _said Kurama quietly, soothingly. "When you wake up, you will have forgotten everything."_

_Still heavy-eyed in spite of her already long nap, Maya yawned softly and buried her cheek in his hair._ "Aa… _You smell so good…_"

You will have forgotten everything, _Kurama repeated in his mind._ Including…

_Never had Hiei beheld such warm, lonely eyes. _

_On a demon at that._

… your love.

* * *

Yet until now, those big brown eyes still gazed at him with so much love in them.

_But you're supposed to have forgotten about me…_

Kurama motioned to borrow the photo album from her. "May I?"

"Of course!" Maya nodded eagerly.

… _and what you once felt for me._

A still-growing discomfort now more urgently tugging at his subconscious, he turned to the next page of the album and gasped.

The picture on the second page revealed a thick red liquid dripping from a young Hagiri Kaname's cheek and staining his shirt. While one of his hands dug into her hair and pulled her closer to him, the other cocked the barrel of a gun to a young, enraged Mayonaka Setsuki's temple.

_What is this? What was happening to them?_

**Continued**

Whoa. I think I just made it (a thousand times) harder for me to write an actual Kurama x OC fanfic now that I've gotten into Kurama x Maya~! O.O

Yes, both Kuwabara and Yukina were wearing their respective jackets in the dead heat of summer. XD They're weird—and right for each other—that way. ^-^;

Oh, and there really is a Mount Kurama in Japan! It really is in Kyoto, and it's where Japanese spiritualists go to awaken and heighten their _reiki_. (Now we know where Togashi-_sama_ got his ideas for YYH! Real-life Japanese folklore! XD) And _tengu_—one of which is the _karasu_—really are rumored to inhabit its mystical, mythical forest. (Weird how Togashi-_sama_ juxtaposed the "Kurama" and "Karasu" in his own fictional creation, isn't it? XDD)

[shameless plug]  
And if you would like to watch _a complete movie_ of Kurama and Maya's young romance (using scenes from the _manga_, and with the voices of Hiei's, Kurama's, and Maya's actual voice actor and actresses!), then check out this YouTube playlist: youtube (dot) com (slash) view_play_list?p=24C4E8088B64DAFF  
[/shameless plug]

**Japanese to English translations and abridged YYH glossary**

_**aa**_ and _**un**_. Slang for _yes_ and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
_**abunai**_. _Look out_ / Danger (lies ahead)  
_**ame**_. _Rain_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**ane**_. Short for _aneki_, a crude, vulgar address for one's own _older sister_, typically used by male gangsters  
**_bento_**. _Lunch_  
_**Botan**_. _Peony_, used as a name in this fic  
_**buh**_. Kitajima Maya's version of _che_, a grunt or expression of disapproval  
**-**_**chan**__._ An honorific used to address _girls_, _animals_, or anything that the speaker considers to be cute; indicates great closeness or intimacy when used to address _boys  
__**chigau**_. _You are wrong / I disagree (with you / with what you have just said)  
__**demo**__._ _But  
__**desu**_. Used in this fic to mean _I am_; a be verb of the Japanese language, the meaning of which differs according to context  
_**dooshita**_. _What's wrong / Is there a problem / Is something the matter  
__**doujinshi**_. _Manga_ created by fans of the original _manga  
__**hai**_. _Yes  
__**Hiei**_. _Flying shadow_, used as a name in this fic  
"_**Ieru wakenai ja nai ka… hontou no kimochi."**_ Kurama's actual thought in Japanese right after rejecting Maya, roughly translated as _I can't (tell her)… (my) true feelings (for her)_; the author quoted Kurama directly to leave his statement open to interpretation  
_**iiya**_. An informal way of saying _no  
__**iiyada**_. _I absolutely refuse / No way_ (Please compare with _sou na_ and _masaka_ below)  
_**ii yo**_. _That's all right / fine (with me)  
__**jagan**_. _Third eye  
__**jitsu wa**_. _Actually_; Kurama almost always uses this when he begins explaining  
_**ka**_. A be verb of the Japanese language that makes any sentence a question (e.g. "_Shokubutsu ka?_" means "Is [that] a plant weapon?")  
'_**kaa-san**__._ A contraction of _Okaa-san_, a respectful address for one's own _mother  
__**Kaname**_. _Strength_, used as a name in this fic  
_**karasu**_. Literally translated as _crow_, used in this fic _not_ as the name of Kurama's former opponent in the Dark Tournament, but as one of the forms of _tengu_ actually rumored to inhabit Mount Kurama in Kyoto, Japan in real life  
_**Kazuma**_. _Peace_ and _truth_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Keiko**_. _Inclination / tendency / trend_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kisama**__._ A very disrespectful and rude form of the word _you_, used only by males (While Yusuke and Kuwabara use _teme_, Hiei and a fuming Kurama use _kisama_)  
_**koorime**_. _Ice maiden_ or a member of the tribe of ice maidens in YYH  
**-**_**kun**__._ An honorific used to address _boys_ or boyish girls  
_**Kuwabara**_. _Mulberry field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kya**_. An onomatopoetic word for a _female_ shriek or scream  
_**Makai**_. _Demon World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**manga**_. Japanese _comics_, such as YYH  
_**masaka**_. _Impossible / (There's just) no way_ (Please compare with _iiyada_ above and _sou na_ below)  
_**mayonaka**_. _Midnight_, used as a name in this fic  
_**mengo**_. Not an actual Japanese word; Mayonaka Setsuki's version of _sorry_  
_**Minamino**_. _Southern field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**minna**_._ All / everyone  
**na**_ and _**ne**._ Expressions for seeking confirmation (much like the English tag questions _isn't it_ or _okay_)_  
_**_nani_. **_What  
__**nigero**_. _Run away / flee / escape_, used in this fic as an imperative_  
__**ningen**_. _Human / human being  
__**Ningenkai**_. _Human World_ (as opposed to the Demon World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**onigiri**_. A Japanese dish of rice balls molded into various shapes by hand; may or may not include seaweed (as opposed to _sushi_, which contains raw fish and other seafood and is wrapped in seaweed)  
_**Reikai**_. _Spirit World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Demon World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**reiki**_. _Spirit(ual) power_, wielded by _ningen_ (as opposed to _youki_)  
_**-sama**_. An honorific used to address someone very respectfully, like _lord_ or _master_  
**-**_**san**_. An honorific used to address someone politely  
**-**_**sempai**_. An honorific used to address an upperclassman  
**_sensei_**. _Teacher_  
_**setsu**_. _Opinion_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**-shihan**_. An honorific used to address a female master of a skill or art (such as martial arts) in a formal, archaic manner  
_**Shizuru**_. _Quiet river_, used as a name in this fic  
_**shokubutsu**_. _P__lant  
__**Shuuichi**_. _Excellence first_, used as a name in this fic  
_**sou ka**_. _That's right  
__**sou na**_. _That's not true / not right / No way_ (Please compare with _iiyada_ and _masaka_ above)  
_**sushi**_. A Japanese dish of raw fish and other seafood wrapped in rice, all of which are then wrapped in seaweed (as opposed to _onigiri_, which does not contain raw fish and other seafood)  
_**tengu**_. A Japanese mythical creature, allegedly a goblin, with various forms and breeds (one of which is the _karasu_); inhabits sacred mountains and forests; abducts humans (To know more, check out characters of anime titles such as _Tactics_ and _Shounen Omyouji_)  
_**tsuki**_. _Moon_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**Urameshi**_. _Bay rice_, used as a name in this fic  
_**uso**_. Literally translated as _lie_ (untruth); expresses a complete thought (_That's a lie_) when used exclamatorily  
_**wakatta**_. _I understand  
__**warii kedo**_. An informal way of saying _warui_, meaning _bad_; used in this fic to mean _My bad / Sorry _(said informally)  
_**yama**_. Literally translated as _mountain_; when used as a suffix (e.g. Kurama-_Yama_), is translated as _Mount_ (Mount Kurama)  
_**youkai**_. _Demon  
__**youki**_. _Demon(ic) power_, wielded by _youkai_ (as opposed to _reiki_)  
_**Yukimura**_. _Snow village_ (_yuki_ is translated as _snow_, _mura_ as _village_), used as a name in this fic  
_**Yusuke**_. _Ghost helper_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Yuu**_. _Ghost_, used as a name in this fic

Again, if I missed anything that you need translating or explaining, just say so in the Reviews page. **Please REVIEW! Thank you so much! ^-^**


	10. The Unknowing, Unknown Rival

**A/N  
**Chapter 10. It feels grand—like a milestone of sorts. Wow. We've all come this far! \^o^/

The very few reviews posted for Chapter 9 disappoint me. T_T I wish more of you would post reviews. I would just _love_ to know what you think of and how you feel about this fanfic so far. Which scenes and/or lines you especially liked. Which ones you absolutely didn't. Which ones in particular you want explained soon. (I know—even _I_ long to spell them all out! XD) Questions. Suggestions. Protests. _Anything._ Just please let me know you're still reading this.

You know, I write and edit this fanfic with such painstaking, sometimes painful, meticulousness… that I might be becoming somewhat dyslexic. (Or cross-eyed. O.O) At some point in Chapter 8, my fingers, eyes, and mind failed me—I had accidentally typed "bit back gasp a" (as if there were such things as gasps "b" and "c"! XD) and even missed it come editing time—to my horror!

But I feel that my pains are all worth it _when I read your reviews_. So please, REVIEW. I truly appreciate it. ^-^

* * *

Chapter Kaname is lovingly dedicated to  
**Kaori Minamino-**_**san**_ (Kaname and Setsu make a badass couple to me! XD And… Kurama has a "favorite gal"? O.O) and  
**GlassTier** a.k.a. **Reclun-**_**san**_ (That's understandable. After all, Sniper and Gamemaster were from the same saga… Still, I wonder who read whose mind, all right. ^-^).  
Thank you—both of you—for your continued support! With your reviews, I no longer feel so alone.

All the same… **Happy reading!**

* * *

"JERK!"

Slanted lavender eyes darted from a blank sheet of paper to a girl in a sky blue apron.

One of Hagiri Kaname's many—too many—female classmates sniffled, huge hazel eyes welling up. "Why does that jerk Rei always pick on me?"

Hot tears blurring her sight, Akasaki Minaku eyed the golden splash on her apron. The class bully of Grade Three, Section Lotus of Mushiyori Elementary had just sloshed paint on her. Again. "What did _I_ ever do to _him_?"

Nami covered her eyes with her hands and wept into them, sniffing in between sobs.

"Hey." A high-pitched yet male voice sighed into Kaname's ear. "What happened to Akasaki?"

His face as blank as his eyes, Kaname looked away. "The usual."

He dipped a small, thin paintbrush into the cup of murky water between him and his seatmate. The indifferent, uninterested Kaname was already aiming his brush towards his watercolor palette when a low yet female voice caught his attention.

"If you want to cry it out, Nami-_chan_, then I won't stop you. But it's really no big deal."

That was new to him.

To the nine-year-old boy, the most—no, the _only_—natural response to someone shedding tears was to stop him or her. "Don't cry." It was as simple as that.

Apparently, not for that classmate of his.

From his desk at the far back of the room, Kaname glared at a wave of sandy brown hair rippling all the way down the girl's back, past her waist, and slowly swaying from side to side as she stooped and studied Nami's apron.

As she wiped her teary eyes with her wrists, Nami suddenly felt a finger running along her torso. "_Eeh_?" She looked down and found her brunette seatmate spreading out the paint stain on her apron. "Why are you doing that, Setsu-_chan_? Mama's going to get really mad at me if you dirty my apron even more!"

But the girl with the boyish name continued finger-painting on Nami's apron as if she had heard nothing at all. "It's not as bad as you think." Ice blue eyes met nut brown. "Look."

A tearful, fearful Minaku from up close—and a curious Kaname in denial from afar—blinked at the sky blue apron. A radiant golden sun now shone where the splotch of yellow paint used to lie.

"What did you just do, Setsu-_chan_? Did you just turn that nasty stain into a sun?" Nami voiced out Kaname's sentiments exactly.

He hated her name. But she herself didn't seem so bad.

"You saw a problem. But I saw art. Now you see it too, _ne_?"

Kaname harrumphed to himself.

"Stupid. Got paint on her hand."

The ill-tempered third grader had to attend to his watercolor drawing for art class soon.

But he could not look away.

**10: The Unknowing, Unknown Rival  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **Kaname**

The second photo in the album revealed a thick red liquid dripping from Kaname's cheek and staining his shirt. While one of his hands dug into her hair and pulled her closer to him, the other cocked the barrel of a gun to an enraged Setsu's temple.

_What is this?_

"Kitajima," Kurama began, eyeing the peculiar photograph closely. Both Kaname and Setsu appeared to be in their pre- or early teens.

_She had a_ ningen _past after all_, he concluded. _But it still doesn't seem "normal"_… "Do you know anything about this picture?"

Shyly tucking a wayward brown strand behind her ear, Kitajima Maya leaned closer to him and gazed upon the image that had caught Kurama's eye. "Oh, _that_? I thought they had _shot_ each other in that one!"

As she giggled to herself, green eyes analyzed the photo. Both Mayonaka-_san_ and Hagiri-_kun_ were armed. But strangely, only the Sniper appeared to have been shot. _Okashii,_ Kurama's brows furrowed. _He intended to shoot her as well. What happened? And how did they resolve this?_

"The first time I saw that, I yelled at Kaname-_chan_ for being so violent with a girl!" Maya laughed at her own confession, her fingers lightly touching her lips. "Then he told me they were just playing paintball!"

_Paintball?_ Kurama sweat-dropped. _So that wasn't blood on him after all… And those were just paintball guns…_ "These guns," he pointed out the metallic-looking rubber pistols in the photograph. "They look real."

"They sure do!" nodded Maya. "But you know, Minamino-_kun_, what fooled me most of all was Kaname-_chan_'s girlfriend!" She pointed to the thirteen-year-old Setsu. "She looked pretty angry in there!"

_Did what was supposed to be a mere game turn out for the worse?_

"But it was only because she lost their paintball game!"

A now informed Kurama sighed to himself. _It all makes sense now._ Green eyes drifted from the female face—_she really must learn to choose her battles wisely _—to the male. _Never play a_ shooting_ game with the_ Sniper_!_

"They go on really fun dates…!" Maya murmured to herself dreamily, clasping her hands to her heart. "Last time, they rode all the way to a pottery shop and made clay pots together!" Again she lightly touched her lips. "Her hands shaping the clay mound… His hands around hers… It's so romantic!"

"Kitajima."

A sexy, romantic alto brought Maya back to (what she hoped would become a just as romantic) reality. "What is it, Minamino-_kun_?"

"Do you know how long they have been together?"

Maya blinked at him curiously. "Why, Minamino-_kun_! I never thought you could ever be interested in other people's lives like that! And their _love lives_, too!"

_I know what you're thinking, Kitajima. But it's not that._ Kurama told her in his mind. _I just seek…_

"You were right, Minamino-_kun_! You _have_ changed!"

… _proof of her humanity_.

* * *

A green marble whacked into a violet one.

"Ha!" cried a freckled boy on his knees, proudly pointing to the new (dis)arrangement of toy marbles dotting the ground. "Take _that_, Hagiri!"

"Was that supposed to impress me?"

A confident smirk crossing his face, the now eleven-year-old Hagiri Kaname crouched further down, his chin nearly grazing the playground asphalt. He pressed his right thumb against his curled right pointer finger and expertly flicked another violet marble away. The small glistening ball knocked a blue one right off the boys' chalk circle on the floor.

"Aw, man!" Kaname's freckled playmate slapped a hand on his own forehead. "You did it again!"

The fifth grade class representative nudged his glasses back up his nose. "_Sasuga_, Kaname-_kun_! You're incredible at this game!" The amazed student officer whirled around. "That marble went so far, I didn't even see where it flew off to!"

"Yeah, where did it go?" The boy with freckles shielded his eyes from the blinding noonday sun high overhead. "You better go get it!"

"_Aa_." Kaname rose to his feet, dusted off the cakes of mud crusting his knees, and eyed his friends suspiciously. "Be right back. Don't touch those marbles."

He had not even taken one step away from them when the kid with freckles accidentally dropped a brown marble he had secretly hidden behind his back. "W-W-What are you talking about? We would never do that!"

Their class representative sweat-dropped.

A distrustful, knowing eyebrow shot up. "Hmph. You better not." Throwing a heated glare at his mischievous playmate, Kaname strode downhill—towards the oldest apple tree in the Mushiyori Elementary schoolyard. "Should be here somewhere…"

He found it. His purple marble had rolled all the way to someone's foot.

"Who's there?" snapped the boy.

He eyed the filthy sneaker right beside his marble, its sole even muddier than his bare knees. Curious yet cautious lavender eyes wandered from the stranger's feet to legs clothed in wrinkled knee-length white socks.

Then a skirt.

It was a girl. Not just any girl. The one with the awfully ugly name.

She was alone again. With her slouched back propped against the trunk of a most miserable-looking apple tree, Kaname's even more miserable-looking classmate was busily penciling on the drawing book on her lap. She did it everyday—doodling away in that trusty sketchpad of hers with neither a care in the world nor for it.

Kaname treaded closer to his preoccupied classmate of five years now, unaware that he was quieting his steps. She did not look up at him. Even when he stood right before her... towered over her… glared upon her face.

Even when he hunched down and picked up his strayed marble, she remained entirely absorbed in her own world.

Wasn't she lonely like that? Didn't she ever want to just put the pencil down and play some fun game?

Kaname cleared his throat, his pride forbidding him from direct eye contact with her. "Wanna play?"

Was this girl deaf or dumb or something?

She still did not look up. So much for trying to be polite! That proved to be a waste of time and saliva.

"Hmph." Dissatisfaction crumpling his face, an offended Kaname turned his back on her and returned to his friends. Neither of them knelt on the asphalt anymore.

"What took you so long, Kaname-_kun_?" asked their class rep, adjusting his spectacles again.

"Yeah! My knees hurt real bad already!" The freckled boy picked tiny pebbles off his own grubby knees. "Was another chick hitting on you again?"

"Huh?" A suddenly uncomfortable Kaname blinked. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"We saw the skirt behind you, Hagiri!" The freckled boy grinned impishly, clacking his tongue twice and winking at his heartthrob friend. "What did she say?"

A long pause. "… Nothing."

"_Eeeeeh_? You expect me to believe—"

One hand on his eyeglasses, the class rep took another glance towards the apple tree. "Ah, but it was her."

Smoldering lavender eyes narrowed.

"I can believe she didn't say anything to you," nodded the bespectacled boy. "I don't think she talks to anyone else in our class aside from Akasaki-_chan_."

"Some people like having just one friend instead of a lot," shrugged Kaname. "Mayonaka could be one of those people."

"Mayonaka?" exclaimed the boy with freckles, disapproval scribbled all over his face. "If you know what's good for you, Hagiri, you'd stay far, far away from that weirdo!"

"Weirdo?" repeated Kaname. She was more of a snob, and could be artistic, but a weirdo?

"You heard me! She's _weird_!" Kaname's now-excited freckled friend gripped both his shoulders. It didn't hurt, but just what was the big deal about that girl with the boy name? "I saw her talking to a flower once! A _flower_, Hagiri!"

The student officer's glasses hid his eyes from view. "I, too, have seen her talking to a tree." He cleared his throat nervously, all too aware of—and, to some extent, shameful for—backstabbing their notoriously unusual classmate. "She's forgetful with shoes, too. After Physical Ed class, when we change from our rubber shoes back to school shoes, she always forgets one shoe." He sweat-dropped. "As class rep, I have to keep reminding her of it."

"And one time, in art class, she used fruits and vegetables as her paintbrushes!" gasped the freckled boy. "She dipped a banana, an okra stalk, a tomato slice, and some other stuff into paint and made her project out of them!"

Kaname collected the marbles scattered around them. "What's wrong with that?" He stuffed the glassy balls into his pants pockets. "That was kinda creative."

"You can say that now, but wait 'til you hear what happened after art class!" The boy with freckles pointed out. "She _ate_ them for lunch!"

"So?"

"If you haven't noticed, Hagiri, that's really, really _weird_!"

"Nothing wrong with it." The unfazed boy shrugged it off. "As long as she didn't eat the parts with paint."

In complete surrender, the freckled boy threw his hands up in the air and groaned. "Dude, what's wrong with you?"

* * *

"_Anou_…"

His elbow on his desk and his chin on his elbow, a visibly bored Kaname cracked a drowsy, misty eye open. Yet another petite hand shyly slipped a frilly pink envelope onto his table.

"F-f-for you, Hagiri-_sama_!" A silky black scalp fearfully bobbed up and down before him. Another girl from his class was wasting his time. She was the third one today. "P-P-Please read it!"

He had not even opened his other eye when the furiously blushing girl bowed again and broke into a mad dash away from him.

Not again. A sigh escaped his lips just as the school bell rang.

"Oh, no…" moaned a familiar melodious voice. Kaname's eyes darted from the love letter on his tabletop to a most distressed Nami. "Lunch period is over, but Setsu-_chan_ isn't back yet. Where could she be?"

Suddenly, a bolt of thunder rolled and crackled in the sky. Within seconds, heavy nimbus clouds shadowed over the City of Mushiyori and spilled brimming bucketfuls of rain.

Still leaning on his classroom desk with his elbow, Kaname buried his cheek in his palm. "If she's still out there…"

She wasn't.

"SETSU-_CHAN_!"

Fifth-grade heads whirled to find a soaking wet figure by their doorway.

A now comforted yet still concerned Nami rushed to her rain-drenched best friend. "You're late! It's a good thing _Sensei_ isn't here yet! Where have you _been_?"

"People-watching." The girl behind dripping brown bangs mumbled nonchalantly, as if nothing was amiss. A wet mop of long hair clinging onto her back, Setsu raised her now-soggy sketchpad for Nami to see. "Then people-drawing."

"That's _it_?" Shaking her head in stubborn disapproval, Nami ushered Setsu back to their adjacent seats, ignoring the watery trail that her best friend left on their recently waxed floor. "Why did you take so long?"

"Well, I was drawing three people at first," Setsu eyed her drawing book, its pages now damp to the touch. Her light pencil drafts—they were ruined! A tranquil loneliness crossed her face. "But I changed my mind at the last minute."

Nami reached down Setsu's back and wrung sandy brown hair dry. "Why?"

"One of them suddenly stood out."

Kaname bit back a gasp. The girl with the boyish name… She was headed straight for him.

"_Mengo_."

"_Men… go…_?"

She tore a moist page out of her pad. "_Aa_. I noticed your marble earlier. I heard your question, too. But I was too caught up in the moment to stop drawing. So," she handed the now blurry pencil painting to him. "Here you go. I hope you don't mind it wet."

Lavender eyes narrowed at the paper. "What's this?"

"Not one of those letters you're used to getting," chuckled Setsu to herself as she weaved past classroom chairs going back to her own. She shot him a glance over her shoulder. "I don't know how to write one of _those_. And I don't believe that I want to know, either."

Kaname found himself face-to-face with a rough yet remarkably realistic portrait of himself. So _that_ was how he looked playing marbles! Her portrayal of his eyes was noticeably larger than how they appeared in a mirror—all his limbs were ridiculously out of proportion as well—but hey, the artist _was_ but eleven years of age, after all.

Finally. He had finally beheld one of the pages of that secret sketchbook of hers with his own eyes. Now he understood why she always kept it by her side. Her devotion to drawing was paying off.

Below the bottommost toy marble in the illustration were the words: "Thank you. You aren't so weird to me yourself."

"Mayonaka…"

Lost violet eyes strayed from the artwork to its artist.

"… You heard us."

* * *

"Akasaki!"

"_Haaai_!" A dainty, hyperactive hand shot up. Nami scurried to the front and pounced onto the platform beneath the blackboard. "_Sensei_, _minna-san_, this is my drawing of my family!" She pointed towards two stick figures with oversized heads and triangles for skirts. "This is me and my mama!" Then she motioned to a short stick figure with another triangle-skirt and a longer one without. "And this is Papa and Mifuyu-'_nee-chan_! Me and Mama live here in Japan, but Papa and '_Nee-chan_ moved away!"

"Where did they go?" An interested girl from the front row piped up.

"Very far away," Nami nodded for emphasis. "So far away, Mama said we'll never see them again!"

Sorrowful blue eyes hid beneath brown hair. _Her parents must have had a divorce_. Setsu bit her lip. _And she doesn't even know it._

"Sometimes I miss my '_Nee-chan_…" murmured a wistful, dreamy Nami, more to herself than to her audience. "She sings very well! She's joined many singing contests and won! Someday, I want to be just like her!"

"Thank you, Akasaki-_chan_!" The fifth-grade art teacher of Mushiyori Elementary applauded, encouraging her students to follow her lead. "Just keep practicing, and you could have a singing career in the future! Next—Mayonaka!"

Setsu rose from her seat and sighed to herself, her calm silence hushing her classmates as well. Never had she been fond of public speaking—especially before attentive yet sinfully judgmental eyes. _Here goes nothing._

She stood before them and held her family portrait up. The class held their breaths, oohed, and ahhed at the lifelike masterpiece right before their eyes. No one—arguably, not even Akasaki Minaku—fully, truly understood the class weirdo, but everyone was well aware of her flair for fine art.

"The name of my _Oyaji_ is Tsuzuku. My _Haha_, Kiseki. We are only three, but that does not make us any less happy a family."

Their _Sensei_ nodded in agreement. "That's right, Mayonaka-_chan_! But there _is_ one thing I want to ask…"

_So she noticed._ A calloused hand threatened to ball into a fist._ Darn it._

"In your drawing, why is your mother farther from you than your father is?"

A blue gaze fell. "That is because she is in real life." _I don't believe that I did anything wrong by including her here. She may be gone, but she will always be a member of our family…_

A hand from the back of the room flailed for her attention. "Did she go far, far away like Minaku-_chan_'s daddy and sister?"

"You could say that." _But even farther._ "But I still believe that we'll see each other again." _Which I know is less likely than Nami_-chan _seeing her father and sister again, but I'm not deluding myself, anyway…_

"I'm sure you will, Mayonaka-_chan_. Thank you for sharing with us." Their schoolteacher nodded as she clapped. "Next—Hagiri!"

"_Aa_." Kaname could not care any less for his turn in the limelight. As he and Setsu passed each other, violet flames met eye to eye with blue ice.

_What?_ Blue eyes narrowed menacingly. _Are you on to me?_

Lavender eyes returned the defiant glare as quickly as they then looked away. "A family of three isn't small. Mine is." He pinched the top middle of his sheet of bond paper, revealing a blank page for all to see. "It's not worth it—drawing my family. _'Tou-san_'s been dead for years. I live with just '_Kaa-san_."

The members of the Hagiri Kaname Fan Club gasped and gushed all over in perfect unison.

"Awww! Hagiri-_sama_ doesn't have a dad anymore!"

"Oh, that's so sad!"

"My poor baby!"

Her arms folded across her chest, a Setsu seated on the far corner rolled her eyes and grunted to herself. _So he lacks one parent as well. Big deal._

"Don't you and your mother ever miss your father, Hagiri-_kun_?" asked their art _sensei_, more upset with the sudden news of death in the young Kaname's family than his blatant disregard for her homework assignments.

Kaname shrugged, casually jamming one hand into his pants pocket. "'_Kaa-san_'s seeing this Kitajima guy. He has a son and a daughter. If they hit it off, I could have a new _'Tou-san_ and siblings."

"_KYAAA_!" squealed the Hagiri Kaname Fan Club with one voice. "We might still have a father-in-law!"

_He couldn't possibly marry_ all of you_!_ An exasperated Setsu massaged her temples. _Rabid fangirls. So reliably annoying._

* * *

Stronger, broader fingers gripped one diamond-shaped crisscross of metal wires.

Kaname inched closer to the wired railing bordering the rooftop of the Mushiyori Junior High School building. Every wall of the roof deck had been fenced with crisscrossed wires for the safety of students.

In his opinion, they didn't need it. At their age, junior high students should already know way better than to jump off the top floor of any four-storey building. Then again, the school _did_ accommodate them suicidal psychopaths like some of his classmates were…

One of his hands still clenching the wires of the barrier before him, he stuffed his other hand into his pants pocket and stared at the students on the ground slowly, casually entering and exiting the building. From where he stood, Kaname could observe them all—small, insect-like figures leisurely crawling into their haven and hive.

He closed his eyes. "This isn't so bad." A secret smile curled his lips. "People-watching."

Kaname retrieved two small spherical objects from inside his pocket. For a while, he eyed the blue and violet marbles in his palm, reminiscing of those good old grade school days when he could just kneel anywhere he wanted, scatter his pebble-sized toys before him, and flick his troubles away.

He tossed the two marbles up into the air and caught them both with one sweeping grab.

"_Oi_, pretty boy!"

Kaname whirled to the fire exit door. One by one, three rugged, ragged boys from his class stepped into the view deck, the tallest, stoutest one in the lead.

"I see ya haven't lost yer marbles yet!" gibed the leader of the freshman class bullies, even elbowing his accomplices to sensationalize his timely taunt. The two smaller boys flanking him sniggered shamelessly.

"GYAHAHAHA! Good one, Rei!"

Hagiri Kaname held little to no respect for suck-ups. They disgusted him. Since they were never the masterminds themselves, they could eventually feign innocence and claim no willful involvement in any incident that backfires on them. To him, they deserved to be condemned even more than their leaders—for at least the brains of the outfit actually had "brains" to speak of, while they merely played the role of puppets, mindlessly fulfilling their bosses' every whimper and whim.

But in the case of _this_ messed-up bunch… Even their leader was no cunning intelligence scheming in the shadows. All three of them were equally disgraceful.

"Aren'tcha a li'l too old t' be playin' wit' 'em marbles, pretty boy?"

"What do _you_ care?" spat Kaname, lavender eyes narrowing, burning. "What do you want?"

"Hmph!" The burly Rei spat on the ground and heavily trudged towards him, his cohorts following right by his side. "As if _you_ got anythin' I want—"

"But Rei, aren'tcha pissed at 'im 'cause that hot babe y' like likes 'im—"

"_URUSAI_!" Rei instantly jabbed his idiot subordinate square in the jaw and turned back to Kaname. "Where were we? Oh, yeah! Ya don't got anythin' on ya, pal! You make me SICK!"

The bully imposed himself before his smaller, lankier classmate. Rei had grown three inches taller over the vacation. And worse, he knew it. The massive thug seized Kaname by the polo shirt collar, stocky hands all too ready to wring some scrawny neck.

Kaname harrumphed to the brute's face. "If this is about some girl, leave me out of it," he squeezed his fist around two marbles digging into his palm. "Just ask her out—if you dare."

"YOU CALLIN' ME A COWARD?" Rei hoisted Kaname clean off his feet.

Kaname glanced downward and winced to himself. The bastard was now stronger than ever before. He himself had never been lifted so high off the ground in his life.

"If she turns you down, that's not _my_ problem."

"_KUSO_! Yer gonna pay for that wit' yer pretty li'l face!"

The frequent bully victim ducked in time to dodge an incoming fist. Rei soon found his tightly balled punching fist stuck in between a diamond of wires in the fence. "WHAT THE—?" Eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, he summoned his sidekicks to his side. "YOU IDIOTS! HELP ME GET OFF THIS!"

Kaname gritted his teeth. "This is pointless. Just leave me alone!"

"Ya kiddin' me?" Rei and his cohorts heaved all together and wrenched his fist off the diamond-shaped gap in the metal wiring. "I'm jus' gettin' started, pretty boy wit' the pretty face an' the pretty name!"

A frown crossed Kaname's face. "Name?"

"Don't tell me it never hit'cha!" scoffed Rei, the words rolling off his lips with contempt. "'Kaname'! What a girly name! Fits a bitch like _you_!"

Of course he had realized it a long, long time ago—much earlier in life than this pathetic bully ever had. "Kaname" was indeed a unisex name. He had never been too fond of it. In fact, he had spent his entire childhood trying to come up with some other cooler, more masculine name for himself—even just an alias that oozed mystery… machismo.

"Hmph." The slighted Kaname seared the bully alive with nothing more than smoldering eyes, secretly agreeing with the derogatory remark yet openly resenting it all at once.

"_Ne, ijimekko-tachi_."

Startled gasps escaping their lips, four boys whirled towards the direction of that low, mellow voice.

Much as he hated to—and would never!—admit it, the voice never failed to soak and soothe Kaname's senses. It wasn't tiny and shrill, like those of other girls his age. A mysterious maturity calmed it more and more with each passing school year.

She didn't sound thirteen at all.

"If I had been born male, the name 'Kaname' would be just fine with me." Mayonaka Setsuki emerged from the fire exit door, her arms crossed before her chest.

Rei and his accomplices finally wriggled his fist loose and yanked it off the rooftop railing. "Mayonaka! Who asked _you_ anyway, ya weird li'l freak?"

Kaname's expression flinched. Bullying him was one thing. But if those bastards dared to lay one finger on that girl—

"You must not have any _real_ problem with Hagiri-_kun_, _ne_? Considering the only fault that you could find in him is his parent-given name—"

"Get lost, Mayonaka!" barked a minion, one of whose cheeks was visibly redder than the other.

"Or should we call ya 'Setsu' instead?" smirked Rei. "It ain't a girly, pretty name to me!"

Kaname took one step forward, willingly nearing himself to danger. "That's enough!"

"Really? Last I checked, 'Rei' isn't so manly a name, either."

"_CHIKUSHO_!" Rei stampeded towards Setsu, dull gray eyes clouding, blinded by a vivid mental image of her face ripped to shreds. She was already raising her hand, her palm facing away from her, when a stone flew straight into Rei's right eye. "_ITTEEEEE_!"

A gasp broke from Setsu's lips. A few inches away from her, Kaname held his left palm up, his right pointer and thumb curled together right above it.

"You asked for it."

"HAGIRI!" The leader of the first-year bullies slapped a hand over his injured eye. "THAT HURT, YA—"

"Go to the clinic. Now," snapped a visibly upset Setsu, turning to Rei's two friends now frozen in a corner. "Go with him as well, _onegai_. He shouldn't go blind if no nerve was damaged."

"_H-H-Hai_!" stammered the two bungling sidekicks, promptly steering their blinded boss out the door.

Once their backs had disappeared from her view, Setsu turned to her other classmate bending over to pick up the projectile that had stabbed their class bully in the eye—a violet marble.

Smoldering lavender eyes glared at ice blue. "Are you on _their_ side?"

"_Iie_." Icy eyes refused to melt. "I believe that you have every right to defend yourself from bullies picking on you. But I don't appreciate how you handled this."

Purple flames blazed even more. "I did it to save _you_—"

"_Arigatou_!"

Kaname gasped. Never in their many years as classmates had he heard her low, mellow voice yell out loud.

"But you _still_ could have blinded him!"

"Should I have just stood back and _let_ him treat you like some punching bag—"

"I could have just run to the door and screamed for you to follow. And we could have just locked them in here until we tell the school authorities about what they tried—but failed—to do to us." She bit her lip, a tranquil remorse eclipsing her face. "Think about it, _onegai_. As it turned out, _we_ had hurt _them_—not the other way around."

"What are _you_ so guilty about?" he scoffed. "You only hurt him with words. That mouth of yours got you right into trouble. Next time, don't say anything that could provoke him in the first place!"

"One stops being a victim when one strikes back."

That was random of her. But she hardly surprised him anymore. He was used to her by now.

"_Chigau_." An unconvinced Kaname shook his head. "There _is_ such a thing as self-defense."

"If you say so." She looked away. "One stops being a victim when one strikes _first_."

"No, it still depends on the situation."

Setsu grunted to herself, more exasperated than ever. "Fine. If you really want to be all politically correct about this: One stops being a victim when one strikes one's attacker _with the intention of hurting him_."

"_You're_ hell-bent on telling me I stopped being a victim and turned into an attacker just now."

"Oh, but I never said anything like that, Hagiri-_kun_. But if you think so, then I must say that I agree."

Lavender eyes narrowed. This girl with the boy name… That voice so peaceful, yet so inviting of big trouble…

"But our classmates," Kaname retorted in his defense. "They're mean. They use every opportunity to make you, me, and everyone else feel bad—"

"But as long as we did not do anything wrong, we should have nothing to feel bad about."

All fell still and silent.

Suddenly Kaname strode towards her, eyeing the violet marble between his pointer and thumb. "Keep it." He took her hand and pressed the orb onto her palm. "If I don't have it, I can't use it to attack again."

Without another word, he stepped through the fire exit door and left.

Setsu gazed upon the small ball now cradled in her hand.

"I know that you meant well…"

Shy, thin lips threatened to curl up.

"… Hagiri-_kun_."

* * *

Sighing to herself, Setsu wilted onto her bed, tugging the Mushiyori girls' ribbon off her collar. As soon as her head flopped onto her pillow, she folded one arm behind her head and undid the topmost button of her blouse. "What a day."

She jammed an exhausted hand into the breast pocket of her school blouse and fished for a violet-colored marble. She eyed it closely.

Violet… Smoky as those smoldering eyes…

"I might have been too hard on him."

* * *

Sighing to himself, Kaname wilted onto his bed, tugging the Mushiyori boys' necktie off his collar. As soon as his head flopped onto his pillow, he folded one arm behind his head and undid the topmost button of his polo. "What a day."

He jammed a guilty hand into the side pocket of his school pants and fished for a blue-colored marble. He eyed it closely.

Blue… Glassy as those chilling eyes…

"I hate it when she's right!"

* * *

A pointer and thumb casually fingered a violet marble between them.

"Why did I assume that he was capable of intentionally aiming at that creep's eye?" Blue eyes narrowed. "Is it because…"

Setsu's fist clenched and swallowed a marble whole.

"… his _reiki_ is much stronger now?"

* * *

A playful hand casually tossed a blue marble into the air.

"Why did I do that?" Violet eyes narrowed. "I could have just left her alone!"

Kaname's fist clenched and swallowed a marble whole.

"Troublemaker!"

* * *

_So Nami_-chan _has choir practice…_ Oyaji _will come home from work late, as usual…_ Lost in thought, Setsu kicked the stand off her mountain bike and pedaled away. _Looks like it's just me and my_ doujinshi _again tonight._

Suddenly, the front wheel of her bicycle ran over a bump on the gravel. "_Nani_?"

Within seconds, she found pedaling difficult… grueling… next to impossible. Her front tire now appeared much narrower than it once was. _Did I just get a flat?_

She parked her feet onto the ground and dismounted her bike. _Hn_. A brutish grumble boiling in her throat, she knelt upon jagged asphalt and inspected her quickly deflating rubber tire. _So I did. Good thing I'm still inside the school. But how—_

"Your front tire's flat."

_Where did_ he _come from?_ "I know," Setsu said matter-of-factly, not even bothering to look up at the nosy newcomer.

An ignored—and consequently insulted—Kaname folded his arms across his chest. "Hmph! There you go again! That mouth of yours is a real troublemaker, Mayonaka!"

"But I was just telling you that I already know—"

"Do you want my help or not?"

"_Iie_," she shook her head. "Thanks, but no, thanks. I would rather not be indebted to you—"

"I wasn't actually asking," scoffed a snide Kaname, taking her bicycle by its handlebar. "You're coming with me whether you like it or not."

"_Hn_. _Someone_'s trying to sound less helpful than he really is," chuckled a sarcastic Setsu, raising a knowing eyebrow.

Violet flames glared at blue ice. "Shut up."

* * *

His right hand pushing her wobbly bicycle forward, Kaname eyed the crooked nail in between his left pointer and thumb. "I saw Rei and his guys with a box of nails this morning." He shot a sidelong glance at the girl steering his own bike alongside him. "Think they could have had something to do with your—"

"As far as I'm concerned, a pesky nail on the road deflated my tire," Setsu studied the black mountain bike in her care. _His bike,_ she grudgingly confessed to herself. _It's so well-maintained. Even the spokes of his tires are clean through and through._ "I don't believe in attaching human faces to what could have been mere circumstance."

"Well, aren't you being nice," his young baritone dripped heavily of sarcasm. "For once."

"_Hn_. You mean I'm never?"

"You're nice to the wrong people."

"You're mean, Hagiri-_kun_. I don't know what your rabid fangirls see in you at all—"

"What?" A wide-eyed Kaname blinked. "What did you just call our classmates?"

"Not all of them. Only those who fawn over you so much—"

"Did you just call them 'rabid'?"

"Clean your ears more often, _onegai_," a harrumphing Setsu looked away. "I don't want to have to repeat myself all the time."

"Or 'rapid'?" Kaname continued as if she had uttered nothing in edgewise at all. "Or 'rabbit'?"

_Is he serious?_ Setsu's face contorted into a sour, awful mess. "Hagiri-_kun_, you sound stu—"

"Careful, Mayonaka." A smug smirk lit his face. "Your smile is showing."

True enough, her lips threatened to curl up at any moment in spite of herself. "If you don't want to see it, then don't make me laugh in the first place."

"But I want you to."

_Nani?_ Setsu froze. _Uh… Is there something wrong with you?_

"You're always…" Kaname cleared his throat and looked away, visibly far more than uncomfortable in his own skin. "… sad."

_So? Big deal. Why would you…_ "I'm just not as bouncy and bubbly as our other classmates, but I'm fine—"

"Your '_Kaa-san_'s been dead for years, hasn't she?"

Setsu bit back a gasp and fell silent. _So he_ did _figure it out! Since when…?_

"This is weird," Kaname chuckled to himself. "That mouth of yours all quiet and not getting you into trouble."

Setsu stared at him blankly, not knowing what to say and not wanting to say anything, either.

"Your eyes told me," he tossed the nail into the trash bin they had just passed. "Years ago. In art class."

_And it took us_ this long… "You must have read my body language at that time—"

"What 'body language'?" he scoffed. "I told you, your eyes can talk!"

"Not literally," Setsu casually lifted Kaname's rear bike tire off a pothole in the road. "If you so insist, then what are they telling you right now?"

He stopped towing her bicycle and locked eyes with hers. At times those blue orbs looked so cold that they were unspeakably inhuman. This was one of those times. "Our classmates," he spat with disgust. "They're wrong about you. You're not weird. They just can't understand how your mind works. And no matter how hard I try, I can't ever figure you out myself."

Dimples shyly revealing themselves on the corners of her cheeks, Setsu grinned at him for the first time. "So I'm not such a class anathema after all."

"A what?" Kaname cocked a confused brow.

_Hagiri_-kun, _are you… blushing?_ "Still believe I'm not as weird as they claim?"

"Getting less and less sure by the minute."

She chuckled to herself. _Oh,_ ningen _can be so amusing_.

* * *

They had walked each other's bikes all the way to the corner gasoline station.

Kaname pulled the hose beside a box-shaped apparatus and attached the end of the hose to the air valve of Setsu's deflated front tire.

_He seems experienced with this…_ "Hagiri-_kun_, have you done this before?"

"_Aa_." The thirteen-year-old boy pushed the control buttons of the box-like machine, masterfully adjusting its settings. "You don't know how many times that stupid Rei and his guys gave me a flat while I wasn't looking!" He double-checked the connection between the hose and the tire, and pressed the Start button. "See this?" He pointed to the box, intending to impress her. "It's called the pneumatic pump."

"Pneumatic?" repeated Setsu, the technical term seemingly impacting her more than he did. "It has something to do with pneumonia, _ne_?"

"Maybe," shrugged Kaname, chagrined over his failed attempt at showing her his smarts. "Both the pump and the disease have something to do with air. Air in tires… in people's lungs…"

_Word association._ Setsu regarded Kaname secretly. _He's not too bad._

"'_Tou-san_ died of pneumonia." Lavender eyes hid beneath raven hair. "What did your '_Kaa-san_ die of?"

Blue eyes hid beneath caramel hair. _You will never let this go,_ ne_?_ A slightly calloused hand rolled into a tight fist.

"… Childbirth."

For a long, windy while, the two shared a still, sorrowful silence.

"_Mengo_." Setsu's trademark apology dropped not from her lips, but his. "I'm sure it wasn't your fault."

_Hagiri_-kun_, you just—_

"See, I've figured _that_ out, too. Give me more." A mischievous, meaningful smirk lit his face. "I want to solve you."

"I'm not a puzzle, Hagiri-_kun_." _You must not know of me. If you do… Even I don't know what could possibly happen…_ "Not one of those kiddy games that you used to play."

"Hey, those 'kiddy games' were fun," retorted the playful little boy in Kaname. "If you want, I could teach you to play—"

"And why do you believe that I would ever want to learn of those?"

He shrugged. "I've never seen you play any games with our classmates. So I thought you just didn't know how. Maybe your '_Tou-san_ forgot to teach you how to have fun. Made you grow up too fast."

_So you believe that I don't act our age, then? It's not because_ Haha _passed on too early_… "How about you, Hagiri-_kun_? Did your mother raise you the same way?"

… _But because thirteen is not my real age._

Kaname bent down and took the hose off the air valve of Setsu's bike tire. "Nope. She told me to grow up whenever I want."

_I am older than you mistakenly believe I am, Hagiri Kaname._

"All done." He gave her newly inflated tire a casual kick to test its solidity. "You can ride this baby home now."

_Much older_.

"But I…" Setsu knocked herself on her temple lightly, penalizing herself for what she was about to confess. "… don't want to. Not yet."

Lavender eyes suddenly blazed aflame. "I know where we can go."

* * *

A reddish pink sun shamefully blushed at the two, hiding from them in between mountains across the horizon. It was getting late. The swings of the Yukimi City park playground creaked and groaned under their weight, but neither of them minded.

"How old is your bike?" Short, broken raven hair flailed with the crisp dusk wind.

Her swing swayed backward just as his went forward. "I've been riding it since we were ten." His question took her by surprise. "Why?"

"It looks that old, all right!" chuckled Kaname, the metal chains of his swing laughing along with him. "Why don't you ask your '_Tou-san_ to buy you a new one? Tell him you've outgrown that one."

"I don't need a new one," murmured a tranquil Setsu, shaking her head. "It still works perfectly fine."

"Mayonaka, it's rusty in places I can't even reach."

"Well, I still wouldn't want _Oyaji_ to spend for a new one." Her eyelids slid closed on their own, as they always did when a soft, kind wind combed her hair. "Single parenthood must be hard enough as it is without me imposing an impractical wish-list upon him."

Kaname harrumphed. "I'm not as thoughtful. _'Kaa-san_ knows I want a motorcycle soon."

Languid eyelids suddenly snapped back open and blinked. "But your bicycle still works perfectly well—"

"It's too slow."

Setsu heaved a hopeless sigh. "You're spoiled, Hagiri Kaname."

"No. _I'm_ normal for our age. _You're_ not."

One hand still hanging on to one of the metal chains of her swing, she massaged her temple with her free hand. "You're a pain."

* * *

"Sorry."

Kaname hung his head low.

"You kept my daughter out _this_ late?"

His elbows on their dining table, the man of the Mayonaka household parted his fingers and pressed their tips together to form a steeple. Setsu's _Oyaji_ had been restlessly sitting—not to mention waiting for his only child—in their dining room since he arrived home.

An accountable, guilt-ridden Setsu stepped in between them. "_I_ lost track of time. Leave Hagiri-_kun_ out of this, _onegai_. He was only keeping me company."

"Kisetsu, you wouldn't have gotten home this late if he _wasn't_ 'keeping you company'!"

Sighing more in defeat than acceptance, Setsu turned to the boy at their front door. "_Mengo_, Hagiri-_kun_. You don't deserve this."

Lavender orbs took refuge beneath raven hair. The apologetic Kaname refused to meet anyone else's eyes. "Again, I'm sorry."

"You should be."

A fuming Mayonaka Tsuzuku slammed the condominium door smack on the boy's face.

Setsu felt a headache coming on. A slightly calloused hand massaged a pulsing temple. "Why? Was it because I arrived home criminally late, or because he just happened to be male?"

The authoritarian father ignored her question altogether. "Go to your room."

Resisting all irrational bodily urges, she turned her back on him and obeyed his order with neither problem nor protest. She closed her bedroom door behind her and leaned her back against it. _This is not going to be easy._

_Have a safe trip home, Hagiri_-kun.

* * *

Why had they never been seatmates? Why was he always assigned to sit rows and rows behind her? From his classroom chair, all he could see of her was her hair.

Hers was the longest hair in their class now. He secretly, silently hoped that she would never have it cut. It stirred a fond memory in him. He just loved nuzzling into his mother's soft brown coat of locks as a coddled, toddled child.

Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Kaname spotted two male hands inching closer and closer to that glorious head of hair. The boy sitting directly behind Setsu was slowly, carefully tying handfuls of her hair around the back of her seat.

"Idiot," he muttered to himself, gripping the small white pencil eraser in his hand. "Don't think I don't see what you're doing."

Why couldn't she feel what was going on behind her back—literally? Oh, right. She was busy either furiously jotting down notes or doodling in her notebook.

Most likely doodling. As usual.

Refusing to take his eyes off the ongoing practical joke in their midst, Kaname pinched the white chunk of rubber between his right pointer and thumb.

"Get mad at me if you want. But I don't want you getting up from your seat and carrying it with you."

And in the blink of an eye, a rubber eraser knocked a prank-pulling hand away.

"_Itte_!" cried the prankster, breaking the holy silence in the room. The junior high sophomores of section three all whirled to eye him curiously. The lecturer scribbling on the blackboard paused and raised a suspicious eyebrow at him.

But Setsu knowingly glared at another boy.

_It was you,_ ne_?_ Those cold blue eyes of hers… They pointed an imaginary accusatory finger at him. _What did he do?_

Reveling in a private victory, Kaname smirked at her from across the room. "Tell you later."

* * *

They had planned on doing it for some time now. Finally, Setsu and Nami pushed their desks together, facing each other's, right by the Year Two Class Three door. They will rearrange them back to normal after lunch, anyway.

"_Ehhhhh_? Are you serious, Setsu-_chan_? You haven't had a crush on _anyone_ your whole life?"

Nami raised her chopsticks to her lips, shoving a heap of glutinous white rice into her mouth. "Buth we're oh-ready churning _fifcheen_! It'ch rearry, rearry rare for girrsh rike ush not to rike anyone at aw-ll!"

"Nami." A brutish grumble boiled in Setsu's throat. "Swallow before you speak, _onegai_."

"Okay." Nami hurriedly gulped down the last of her rice. "Hey, I know what you're doing! You're changing our topic again!" Her cheeks puffed and pinked all over as she pouted. "Are you avoiding this conversation because you _do_ already like someone and you're just not telling me?"

Setsu brought the rim of a cup to her lips and quietly sipped her spicy soup. Then she looked up. "I don't believe that I see anyone that way, Nami-_chan_. But I do enjoy drawing someone. Aside from you and _Oyaji_, of cour—"

"WHO?" Minaku practically sprung from her seat in senseless excitement. "Tell me! Tell me! _Tell me!_"

Setsu sighed at her best friend's hyper energy. "Nami-_chan_, you must promise me that you will never—I repeat, _never_—even dare speak his name. That is, if you manage to guess who he is."

"_Ehhhhh_? No fair, Setsu-_chan_!" Pouting cutely again, Nami crossed her arms before her chest and harrumphed. "I want to know his name!"

"You might figure it out for yourself after I tell you _everything else about him_…" Small, shy lips curled up. "… If only you would let me."

"Okay!" Impatient hands clapped together. "Go!"

"He is Japanese, just like we are."

"Uh-huh…" Nami nodded mechanically, almost like a toy bobble-head.

"In junior high school as well."

Hazel eyes widened. "Ooh! He's our age!"

"I can't say." A blue gaze fell. "He lives with his mother."

"A mama's boy!" cried Nami, snapping her fingers. She couldn't believe it. The distant, disinterested Mayonaka Setsuki actually _had_ a secret someone to share with her! They had known each other since they were six, yet Nami had neither known nor heard of Setsu's secret human art subject before. Such a mystery!

"Unfortunately, he no longer has a father."

"Wait…" A brain wave washed over Nami. "Is… he… who… I… think… he… is…?"

"Don't say it."

"But—"

All of a sudden, icy blue eyes sent shivers down Nami's spine. "If you want me to go on, then don't say it, _onegai_."

An intimidated Nami sighed in resignation. "Okay."

"Something makes him… different."

"Different?" echoed Nami, blinking repeatedly. "Different how?"

"Unique. Not like anyone else in this world."

The bridge of Nami's nose wrinkled. "I don't get it."

"He's strong. He gets into many fights, though. At least he never starts them."

"I'm losing you, Setsu-_chan_!" moaned a Nami seemingly suffering from throes of actual physical pain.

"Lastly, when you spell his name in English—"

"_MOU_, Setsu-_chan_!" A _chibi_ Nami magically raised a picket sign of protest from out of nowhere. "Just give it to me in Japanese!"

"_Iie_," refused Setsu, an annoyed yet amused chuckle escaping her lips. "When you spell his name in English…" she repeated. "… It has six letters… and begins with a…"

Her fingers tingling while touching her lips, Nami held her breath.

"… K."

A stunned Nami staggered back in her seat, jerking it forward and nearly toppling her rice bowl off her desk. "So it IS—"

"I can't say." Her eyes now closed, Setsu calmly took another sip of her soup.

"Are you sure you just like _drawing_ him?" grinned Nami meaningfully. "You know Setsu-_chan_, if you've been drawing this guy for a long time now, you could learn to _love_—"

"I _have_ known him for years," Setsu responded especially quietly, her eyes still closed. "But I don't love him. I just don't want to…"

"To…?"

"… make the same mistake again."

Behind the Year Two Class Three door, lavender eyes narrowed.

"What mistake…?"

* * *

"I know," Setsu tucked her hands behind her back and clasped them together. "You have choir practice. I'll go on my own."

"I'm sorry, Setsu-_chan_…"

She turned her back on Nami and walked away, momentarily looking over her shoulder. "Call you tonight, _ne_?"

"_Un_!"

Setsu strode back into the Year Two Class Three room, roving eyes in search of someone. Two girls swept chalk dust off the platform… One dusted the teacher's table… A boy clapped two spent blackboard erasers together… And he was mopping the floor.

"Hagiri-_kun_."

All the student janitresses of the day whirled towards her at the mere mention of his name. Glamorously plucked and shaped eyebrows crumpled into intense, telling frowns. Since when had Hagiri-_sama_ and that Mayonaka freak been on speaking terms with each other?

The visibly unwilling janitor Kaname wiped sweat off his brow with his wrist, his ears slightly perking up to that voice he knew—and silently loved—so well. "Mayonaka."

"You took the Meiou Private High School entrance examination too, _ne_?" she asked, already knowing the answer to her own question. "According to Nami-_chan_, the results have just been released. I'll go check if our names are on the list of passers."

"Don't bother looking for my name," harrumphed Kaname, sliding a wet mop across the tiled classroom floor. "I didn't make it."

"Really? Last I checked, you aced a test that you were sure you failed."

A teasing smirk twisted his lips. "You checked? You actually gave a damn about me?"

Setsu looked away and promptly trudged out the room, leaving a cheeky command in her wake. "Shut up."

* * *

She had just stepped into the City of Yukimi and was only halfway to the Meiou private campus when a thin needle of rain pricked a warm, rosy cheek.

Setsu held her palm up and gazed upon the gloomy heavens, swollen gray clouds shadowing the city, promising her a shower at any moment.

_Great_. Another icy bead fell onto her outstretched palm. _Just when I didn't take my bicycle._

* * *

To Kaname, the rain was always much more pleasant to listen to when it came down in tempestuous torrents. Still gripping the handle of a school mop, he fondly looked out the sliding glass window.

Suddenly it hit him.

"Stupid," he muttered between gritted teeth. "Doesn't have an umbrella again." Lavender eyes hid beneath raven hair. "Always asking for trouble."

The student janitors of the day jolted in shock upon hearing a heavy wooden mop handle loudly smack their newly cleaned floor. One startled girl caught sight of a familiar flash of jet black hair bolting out the door.

"Hagiri-_sama_!" she gasped. "Where are you going?"

* * *

Her uniform and yet-uncut hair clung to her like second skin.

A drenched, wretched Setsu silently stood before the Meiou entrance gates, crossing her arms before her chest. But it was no use. She could not keep herself warm that way. Not with her soaked sleeves.

She tilted her head and eyes up to read the announcement posted on the campus billboard. _Meiou. If I made it, then I could finally be in the same—What am I thinking? I must not…_

She sighed to herself, a cloud of cold mist escaping her lips. A gust of rain-chilled air wrapped around her and froze her to her core.

Glassy blue eyes scanned through the list of surnames beginning with the letter A. The name "Akasaki Minaku" lit them up. _Nami_-chan _was accepted!_

The same eyes were already ferreting out another name in the list when they suddenly betrayed her. From the corner of her eye, a Meiou student strolled past the school gate. A gasp caught in her throat.

_K_…

* * *

"Damn, this is slow!" An impatient, irritated Kaname candidly cursed his bicycle under his breath as he sped up his pedaling. She must be soaking wet by now.

From the distance, he could make out the gates of the Meiou campus, its students casually, leisurely walking out in umbrellas. A boy and a girl took cover under the same umbrella, the guy clutching its handle between them as his girlfriend blissfully chatted away with him, her arm flailing wildly at her side.

And there she was, tacitly trembling before the entrance bulletin board.

"Mayonaka!"

She was holding herself close, trying to warm herself from the biting cold of the driving rain. Were her teeth chattering? Or was she biting her lip?

What—or who—was she looking at like that? Those haunting eyes of hers weren't as cold as he had expected them to be. She was just staring off into the distance in a strange silence, those ice blue eyes especially glassy… blank… lost… absent…

Gone.

* * *

A well-maintained black bicycle suddenly collapsed by her feet. Its owner clapped a hand on her forehead, feeling for her temperature.

_His hand,_ Setsu's eyes remained still, tranquil. _It's so warm. Or am I just—_

"You're hot!" exclaimed a visibly upset Kaname, entirely unaware of the color flooding to his cheeks. "I—I mean, you've got fever!"

A long, listless pause lingered between them. "… I know."

"Let's get you back home!" He raised his bike, propped it up against the wall, and scooped her up in his arms.

_HN?_ Cautious instinct instantly arched her spine and legs away from his carrying hands. _Put me down!_ "What are you—"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Kaname spat to the miserable, vulnerable creature still stubbornly squirming against his chest. He set her down on the seat of his bicycle—whether she wanted him to or not. "You need to get dry, fast!"

He swung a leg over his bike and plopped onto what remained of its seat behind her. They were neither comfortable nor safe in his trusty vehicle, but it would have to do for now.

"Tsuki." A rough, gruff whisper warmed a frostbitten ear. "Pull yourself together."

"I'm fine, Hagiri-_kun_. You don't have to do this." A most ungrateful Setsu shot a defiant glare at the boy pressing against her back. _Wait. Nani?_ "What did you just call me?"

Kaname choked on a gasp just as he wheeled away, his left hand on the steering handlebar of his bike, his right arm curling round her waist. She needed not hear _that_ slip of his tongue again. "Don't fall. Hold on to me."

"Hagiri Kaname." A shaky Setsu still managed to snap threateningly in spite of her blurring vision and growing lethargy. The steady rise in her body temperature was slowly but surely draining her of all energy. "What. Did. You. Just. Call—"

"Tsuki!" cried a reluctant, red-faced Kaname, suddenly feeling her body slipping away from his and pulling her closer. It may have served him well all this time, but he was still disappointed with his bike for its individual seating capacity. Now more than ever, he badly wanted that motorcycle. A big one. And a two-seater. "I've been thinking. Don't like it? Sounds much better than 'Setsu' to me."

_Tsuki…?_ "Go back, _onegai_." Hiding her eyes beneath her hair, an ill-at-ease Setsu deliberately dismissed the nickname, stiffly refusing to speak of endearments at the moment. "I haven't found our names on the list yet—"

"Forget it." That strong, warm arm tightened around her, smoldering lavender eyes burning more brightly than ever before. "I'm taking you home no matter what."

"_Iie_. _Oyaji_'s not home. Remember what happened last time? If he catches you there—"

"What about _my_ home?"

"That's even worse. He'll have _more_ ammunition against you."

"A _hospital_!"

"That's not necessary, Hagiri-_kun_. I'm fine."

"Oh, yeah? Well, _I'm_ not!"

"_Hn_?" Blue eyes widened and blinked.

Lavender eyes hid beneath dripping raven hair. "It makes me sick."

Setsu hung her head low. _You're blowing this out of proportion, Hagiri_-kun_… If you would only leave me alone, I could just turn back—_

"I never want to see you that sad again. Ever."

She threw a sidelong glance behind them. Two small silhouettes sharing one umbrella headed in the opposite direction, slowly ebbing in the distance. She sighed to herself.

_And so we part again._

"Keep that hair of yours away from your face," commanded a demanding yet distressed Kaname. "You're getting real pale and I can't see it."

She hung her head even lower, dripping wet streaks of brown bangs veiling her face from his eyes all the more. "Why should I? That's not a good thing to see, anyway."

"Do you always leave it alone like that?" A frown crossed his face. "Don't want to make your _'Tou-san_ buy you stuff for your hair?"

"Exactly."

"Too bad." He buried his chin into that damned damp scalp. "You don't care for it at all. Maybe I like it better than you do."

Setsu found her cold cheeks warming up by themselves. _Hagiri_-kun_…_ She snubbed his unusual display of affection with a brutish grunt. "_Arigatou_. Now shut up."

She followed her own advice and fell silent. Suddenly her eyelids sank. She resisted the lure of their urge, but they were closing on their own…

_Iie, Mayonaka Setsuki. Your_ ningen _body isn't this weak. Don't let that fever get you down…_

"You know, you could cry if you want."

Weak, heavy eyelids snapped back open.

"Guess who I learned _that_ from a long time ago."

Blue ice met violet flames. "But I don't feel like crying."

"Don't worry." The arm keeping them together clutched her even closer. "I won't look if you don't want me to."

An exhausted hand, slightly calloused from habitual drawing, reached for Kaname's shirt sleeve and gripped the fabric tight.

Peaceful lavender orbs softly gazed upon a paling female face, unable to tell if the drops rolling down those colorless cheeks had fallen from not so blue skies or all too blue eyes.

* * *

He sneezed for the eighteenth time in five minutes. His disgusting, deafening reflex reactions should have awakened her by now.

But she was still out like a light.

After drying it, the kindly nurse had tied the soundly sleeping Setsu's hair with a rose-red ribbon. The strangest smile threatened to curl Kaname's lips. Ribbons in her hair suited her. If only she was feminine enough to accept it.

"… A…"

"Huh?" Kaname froze for a split second. The girl of his dreams was speaking in hers. Taking care not to place any of his weight anywhere on her, he sat upon her bed, slowly sliding beside her right arm.

"… a… ma…"

Still fast asleep, Setsu squinted her already shut eyes.

"Mama?" A frowning Kaname filled in the blanks, attempting a wild guess at what—who—she saw or spoke to in dreamland. "Is it your '_Kaa-san_?"

She suddenly bit her lip. She sank her front teeth so deep into her lower lip that the soft layer of labial tissue broke and bled.

"Tsuki, don't do that," warned Kaname, seizing the sleeping form by her shoulders.

Within seconds, a thread-like leak of blood trickled down her lower lip. Her face wrapped, wrinkled, and writhing in an unspoken agony, the unconscious Setsu parted her lips and screamed without a sound.

"Stop that!" cried a now fretful, fearful boy on a local hospital bed. "Shut up!"

Kaname dug his fingers into the sandy brown locks blanketing her neck, drew her face to his own, and silenced her lips with his.

* * *

_Stay… Go away…_

A strong yet soothing pressure touched her lips and refused to let go. A heavy but warm breath tickled her once-numb nose. Reluctant eyelids carelessly fluttered open.

_K—!_

She gasped into his mouth. A calloused hand clenched a thin hospital bedspread.

_Kaname…_

* * *

"Kitajima—"

"It's really so nice to know the things you're curious about, Minamino-_kun_!" giggled Maya, her fingers lightly touching her lips. "Kaname-_chan_ and his girlfriend were classmates from grade school to junior high. But they didn't grow apart even when they went to different high schools! It's so romantic!"

_Sou ka._ Green eyes narrowed. _Hagiri_-kun _didn't attend Meiou._

"Is there any particular reason you asked about them?"

"_Iiya_." Kurama held his hands up before him in denial.

"You couldn't have been interested in Kaname-_chan_'s past…" A sudden realization hit her. She clapped her hands together. "So that must mean—!" She eyed Kurama squarely, suspiciously. "But I thought you and Kaname-_chan_'s girlfriend were related! You can't—"

_Chigau! Chigau yo, Kitajima!_ "You are mistaken, Kitajima—"

"But I saw how long you looked at that picture, Minamino-_kun_!" She held her hands to her heart, wringing her fingers especially tight. "You—"

"_Warii kedo_." His eyes closed, refusing to meet hers. The same growing discomfort from earlier now twisting his very being, Kurama rose from the Hagiri-Kitajima living room couch and strode to the front door. "I better go."

A gasp escaped Maya's lips. "Minamino-_kun_!" She shot up from the sofa and sped to his side. "Please don't leave! I—!"

Two petite, elfin hands clasped Kurama's cheeks and cupped them with care.

At that moment, Kitajima Maya finally claimed her longtime beloved Minamino Shuuichi's first kiss.

**Continued**

No, Kaname-_kun_, she didn't murmur "Mama." She might have meant to say "Ama... numa." XDD What do you think?

And Setsu-_chan_, I think you forgot to mention: He's drop-dead gorgeous and has fangirls throwing themselves at his feet. *wink*

Err… This was a kissy chapter. XD *throws up at the side* I know, I know—yuck. But one of the genres of this fanfic _is_ Romance… And without this chapter, we wouldn't know what happens next. ^^

Look out for _Omake_ (Bonus / Extra / Special) Chapter 11! It's an _omake_ for a reason! ^_^

P.S. Please review! I would love to hear from you!

**Japanese to English translations and abridged YYH glossary**

**_aa_** and **_un_**. Slang for _yes_ and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
_**akasaki**_. _Red tip / red point_ (_aka_ is the color_ red_, and _saki_ is _tip_ or _point_), used as a name in this fic  
_**anou**_, _**eh**_, _**hn**_, and _**yo**_. Disfluencies of speech (much like the English _uh_ and _um_), not limited to the Japanese language  
_**arigatou**_. _Thank you_, less formal than _arigatou gozaimasu  
_**-**_**chan**_. An honorific used to address _girls_, _animals_, or anything that the speaker considers to be cute; indicates great closeness or intimacy when used to address _boys  
__**chibi**_. Literally meaning _small / little _(in size), refers to a Japanese animation style wherein characters are drawn or portrayed with oversized heads and undersized bodies to add a comic relief effect to the current scene  
_**chigau**_. _You are wrong / I disagree (with you / with what you have just said)  
__**chikusho**_. A slang variation of _kuso_ (as if _kuso_ weren't slang enough already XD)  
_**doujinshi**_. _Manga_ created by fans of the original _manga  
__**gya**_. An onomatopoetic word for a _male_ shriek or scream  
_**Haha**_. An informal address for one's own _mother  
__**hai**_. _Yes  
__**iie**_ and _**iiya**_. Formal and informal _no_, respectively  
_**ijimekko**_. _Bully  
__**itte**_. A slang variation of _itai_, an interjection expressing pain  
'_**kaa-san**_. A contraction of _Okaa-san_, a respectful address for one's own _mother  
__**Kaname**_. _Strength_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kiseki**_. _Miracle_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kisetsu**_. _Season_, used as a name in this fic  
**-**_**kun**_. An honorific used to address _boys_ or boyish girls  
_**kuso**_. A swear word, roughly translated to _damn (it)  
__**kya**_. An onomatopoetic word for a _female_ shriek or scream  
_**manga**_. Japanese _comics_, such as YYH  
_**mayonaka**_. _Midnight_, used as a name in this fic  
_**mengo**_. Not an actual Japanese word; Mayonaka Setsuki's version of _sorry_  
_**Minamino**_. _Southern field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**minna**_. _All / everyone  
_**_mou_**. Used in this fic as an expression for whining or complaining  
_**nami**_. _Wave_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**nani**_. _What  
__**ne**_. An expression for seeking confirmation (much like the English tag questions _isn't it _or _okay_)  
'_**nee-chan**_. A contraction of _Onee-chan_, an informal yet respectful address for one's own _older sister  
__**ningen**_. _Human / human being  
__**oi**_. An expression similar to the English _hey_, not limited to the Japanese language  
_**okashii**_. _Strange_  
_**onegai**_. _Please_, less formal than _onegaishimasu  
__**oyaji**_. _Old man_, used to address one's own father in this fic  
_**rei**_. _Spirit_, used as a name in this fic  
_**reiki**_. _Spirit(ual) power_, wielded by _ningen_ (as opposed to _youki_)  
_**-sama**_. An honorific used to address someone very respectfully, like _lord_ or _master_  
**-**_**san**_. An honorific used to address someone politely  
_**sasuga**_. _As (I) expected (of you)_, a term of praise synonymous to _impressive  
__**sensei**_. _Teacher_  
_**setsu**_. _Opinion_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**Shuuichi**_. _Excellence first_, used as a name in this fic  
_**sou ka**_. _That's right / I just remembered  
_**-**_**tachi**_. A pluralizing suffix (much like the English -s and -es); to be used with discretion because Japanese words can be singular or plural even without it, depending on the context  
_**'**__**tou-san**_. A contraction of _Otou-san_, a respectful address for one's own _father  
__**tsuki**_. _Moon_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**tsuzuku**_. _Continuation_, used as a name in this fic  
_**urusai**_. _Shut up_  
_**warii kedo**_. An informal way of saying _warui_, meaning _bad_; used in this fic to mean _My bad / Sorry _(said informally)

Again, if I missed anything that you need translating or explaining, just say so in the Reviews page. **Please REVIEW! Thank you so much! ^-^**


	11. Setsu's Nicknames

**A/N  
****This chapter is NOT what you—all of you—think it is.  
**If you were expecting the continuation of Chapter 10—How Kurama had reacted to Maya's sudden kiss… Where (the present-time) Kaname and Setsu had ridden off to in his motorcycle… What had become of Yusuke, Kuwabara, and the gang… And how Hiei and Mukuro, not to mention Koenma and Jorge, had been doing—then I must break it to you now:  
_Those are all in Chapter 12 onwards_.

So exactly what _is_ in this very chapter, you ask?  
**All your questions—finally answered.  
****And two mini-chapters. ^-^**

Just read on to find out what I mean! XD Happy reading!

* * *

**Bonus Chapter Dedications  
**This _omake_ chapter is fondly dedicated to the readers who had heeded my virtual plea for reviews in Chapter 10:

**loser94**-_san_: You are most welcome! Thank _you_, too! I hope to hear from you again soon! ^^

**AkaMizu-chan**… err, -_san_ (Double honorific XD): Thank you for reviewing my fanfic! I'm glad my version of a Sniper x OC didn't disappoint. ^-^ Your review reminded me of the (love?) triangle that I seem to have forgotten while writing Chapters 9 and 10. XD I hope to hear from you again soon! ^^

**DiesIrae773**-_san_: Hey there! While typing Chapter 10, I thought of you and your previous review. ^-^ Actually, your liking for the Kaname-Setsu couple motivated me to finish it. When I know there's at least one reader-reviewer out there looking forward to reading my next chapter, I also look forward to posting it. ^^

Chapter 10 was one of my personal favorites, too. (Another was Chapter 8.) And yeah, Kaname _was_ sweet to Setsu, wasn't he? XD I think what endeared him to me all the more was that he was so rough and tough with her even when he was already so obviously smitten. XD You are most welcome! Here—I've updated again. ^_^

**Kaori Minamino**-_san_: Yup, "buildup." Kaname and Setsu's first kiss… We all knew it was bound to happen. We needed only wait. XD

I think we both know who the two Meiou students under the umbrella were, but shhh. XD And the broken syllables Setsu uttered while having that nightmare? I know you know it, too. *wink*

And I would feel most honored if you would sit next to me and read what I'm typing over my shoulder. ^-^ I wouldn't even allow you to just stay behind me! And I would _never_ kick you out, of course! XD I feel the need to tell you, though, that I write in bed most of the time. (But you can still join me—it's big enough to comfortably accommodate both of us, and I'm straight anyway. XDD) That is, if you wouldn't mind lying on your stomach with your legs dangling in the air for hours on end. ^^;

All the best to you and your finals! (I hope my well-wishing isn't too late. If it is, then I just want you to know I silently cheered for you the moment I first read your review. XD I shouldn't have been too late yet at that time. ^^)

As for Kurama's "favorite gal"… I get it. ^-^; Poor Maya, all right. Oh, well. At least _she_ was his first kiss. I think she deserved it—what with all those years and years of pining over him. XD Let's give her that, at least.

Here's a little spoiler that you may (or may not) want to read: I may be the author of this fanfic, but I don't play the role of Fate here. ^^ I'm just saying. Thank you for your praise!

**Nancy**_-san_: You're right—there _has_ been "a lot more back stories" than there were before. I wrote Chapters 9 and 10 the way I did to establish the intricacy and intimacy of the relationships between and among Kaname, Setsu, Kurama, and Maya. (Chapter 9 was for everyone unfamiliar with Kurama and Maya's tragic romance. Then Chapter 10 was for those wondering how Kaname and Setsu got together. ^^)

Maybe you had mistaken Setsu for Maya at first because I specifically stated in Chapter 1 that Setsu was _not_ my own OC, and that she appeared in only one YYH episode—the 94th one, in just one scene with Kaname. Maybe you had assumed that the girl in Episode 94 was Maya. But Maya was _never_ shown in the anime. She appeared only in the _manga_, particularly in the bonus chapter after Volume 7, which was entitled _Two Shots_.

Please, let me further differentiate Maya and Setsu. In the color version of _Two Shots_, Maya had _wide_, _dark brown_ eyes. But the girl in Episode 94 had _very narrow_, _light-colored_ eyes… light blue, almost lilac, even. And I based my descriptions of my Setsu character on that very girl in Episode 94. So I daresay that the girl in Episode 94 is not at all Maya, and I just happened to give her a name and a personality. XD

I understand why you're concerned that this fanfic may not be "building up to something" after all. My flashback sequences are becoming longer and longer now, I know. But I assure you, Kurama is getting closer and closer to cracking this case. He is figuring it all out one chapter at a time. Please be patient. ^-^

If my Japanese-to-English translation glossary fails to help you, you may want to suggest that I stop using Japanese words altogether for the remainder of this fanfic. Please, feel free to tell me so in a review. ^^ Should you have any more concerns with this little fanfic of mine, please don't hesitate to tell me! I am most willing to help you out.

**rain chant**-_san_: I see what you mean. Until you mentioned it, I wasn't aware that my omission of characters' names has already gone to the point wherein identifying who's who becomes confusing. (I do so just to lend a sense of mystery to a particular scene.) But now that I'm conscious of it, I'll be more mindful in my writing. Again, thank you for pointing it out. ^-^

I myself never thought I would refer to Kaname as "sweet," but… XD And yes, the mystery is coming undone—chapter by chapter, scene by scene. Please read on! ^_^

**Athena'sOracle**-_san_: That's all right. ^_^ I don't mind reading your review for Chapter 9 even when I had already posted the 10th. It wouldn't have been rude at all—in fact, I would appreciate it. ^^ Actually, I _love_ receiving reviews for chapters that aren't the most recently posted. XD (They remind me of the "value" of older chapters. ^^)

Chapter 10 was one of my personal favorites, too. (Another was Chapter 8.) And I _would_ like to have Kaname's power, too! It's so fun! (You must have a lot of marbles! If only we could, let's play together sometime! XD)

**krm3DeeDee**-_san_, to whom this is dedicated _four_ times: You're alive! And you reviewed! \^o^/ I missed your reviews, you know! XD No need to ask for my forgiveness or anything. I'm just happy to hear from you again. ^-^ And wow. Thank you for your generous compliments! My writing style hasn't changed at all, really. The plot of this fanfic just… took a more complicated turn, I guess.

I just _love_ your grasp of the characters of this fic. You never fail to remind me of Kurama's not-so-human face. And you picture Setsu exactly how I would like all of my readers to. (Yes, she _does_ love babbling away on the telephone! XD)

Except for a compulsory one-semester course in college, high school was also the last time I took Physics, so the stuff I mentioned in Chapter 7 were limited to the topics I could recall off the top of my head. XD Actually, my objective in portraying Kurama, Setsu, and Shuuichi all together like that in that chapter was to lend them a sense of family. (And not just in a cousin-slash-stepbrother way. By "family," I intended for Shuuichi to be a "son" of sorts, Kurama to be "fatherly," and Setsu to be… never mind. It didn't work out that way, anyway. XD)

And yeah, Setsu _is_ especially violent towards her poor cousin, isn't she? But I guess you must have also noticed by now that she's hard on _everyone she cares for_. She speaks to her father as if he isn't her father… acts like an enemy to her own best friend… Heck, I even think Kaname deserves a more expressive, affectionate girlfriend than her. XD But that's just her way of letting them know that she cares after all. Remember how… harsh… she was with Kurama in Chapter 1? ^^ Yup. She hasn't changed one bit.

Your interpretation of the beginning of Chapter 7—the scene with the mysterious creature and the animal—overwhelmed me. You and I must see it with our minds' eyes in the exact same way! ^-^ To me, that was the most peaceful yet sorrowful scene in _Never Knew_ so far. And it's so crucial to this fanfic, I just _had_ to write it before the chapter title.

You know, Chapters 8 and 10 are my personal favorites so far, too! I love depicting arcade games because they take me back to my college days—after tackling yet another challenging chapter, my thesis partner and I would just hit the videogame arcade, waste what little loose change we had on shooting games, and belt our lungs out in a public karaoke booth. (Apparently, senseless shooting and singing had a calming, cathartic effect on us. XD) Unlike Setsu, I actually enjoy singing—even though the mere prospect of someone hearing (and judging) me scares me out of my wits! XD—and I don't play the drum set. I only know its parts. ^^

In your review of Chapter 8, you commented that Setsu "can talk to kids well." Was it because of how she managed to explain Kurama's reluctance to the boy pleading for him to play against Amanuma? While I was typing that scene, I was mumbling something along the lines of: "Oh Kurama, you had better be thankful your OC is so damn understanding of you, you uncooperative b—" I think you know what I mean. XD

Now that you mention it, I see what you mean by "giving Kurama too much consciousness" in that chapter. He may very well have been too conscientious—too guilt-ridden—of his having murdered Amanuma in the past. But for the sake of his personal breakthrough, let's give him the benefit of the doubt and trust that maybe, just maybe, he _has_ changed for the better—one small step at a time.

As for Maya… Man, am I uncomfortable writing her! (Did you notice how… messy… Chapter 9 was? The jumbled, cluttered flashbacks were a reflection of my own internal turmoil at the time. XD) But since she was Kurama's "woman" (from YYH canon, at that!), of course I knew there must have been _something_ about her that fascinated him. Chapter 9 was my (epic failed) attempt to fill in the blanks of Kurama and Maya's past—how they _could have_ ended up together, but unfortunately didn't.

But Kaname and Setsu made an even lovelier couple than Kurama and Maya, didn't they? XD Since both of them aren't very open and demonstrative of their (true) feelings, every little "moment" between them seems special… because we know it's so rare. ^^ (I thought his kissing her—while her lip was bleeding, at that—hailed the dawn of the romance Kurama and Maya never had.)

You're right—I have no intention of killing off either Maya's or Kaname's characters throughout this entire fanfic. You may not see it now, but their characters serve to bring Kurama and Setsu even closer. ^^

And yes, the rabid fangirls. They've sprouted to life. XD But they aren't the RFGs—_your_ RFGs—yet. _Those_ are Kurama's. ^-^ Oh, but they're coming. Soon.

I'm glad you didn't think any less of Setsu after Chapter 10—in which I showed everyone just how vulnerable a character she could be. She _does_ get feverish just as easily as she gets allergy attacks. (She's no picture of health. XD) She _does_ drench herself under the rain often. (Part of her being sloppy. It also goes to show that she neglects her own well-being. She's like Kurama that way. XD) And she _did_ also just have one hell of a nightmare—whatever it was. I completely agree with you—it _was_ a good thing Kaname was there. None of us has ever seen her so… pained… before. (Don't worry. The secret behind that scene shall be revealed… when the time is right.)

I haven't seen any trailer for _Eclipse_ yet. In fact, I'm not too fond of the entire _Twilight_ saga because I find Bella Swan too Mary Sue-ish for my taste. (Alice Cullen is way cooler to me! ^-^) But I appreciate your warning about the first trailer. I won't raise my hopes too high, then. ^^

As for Kurama and Maya's kiss… Just wait until you read _her_ reaction below. XD I would love to hear from you again!

P.S. _Hoi hoi nya!_ XD I just love Kikumaru Eiji's silly speech quirks. He's cute enough without them, but even more adorable with them. ^o^ Maybe Setsu got her _Mengo_ from watching TeniPuri too often. *wink* The name of the "change over" player in the Jyousei Shounan Tennis Club is Wakato Hiroshi. ^^ And Kajimoto _does_ need a personality. Desperately. XD

P.P.S. I'll update _**If I Owned PoT**_ after I post Chapter 12 of this fanfic, okay? ^^ I wouldn't want to leave the readers of _this_ fic hanging for too long. ^_^

And **Milli**(dot)**Helen**-_san_, to whom this is dedicated _twice_: That's all right—I don't mind the double post at all. (In fact, I kind of hoped you had reviewed the previous chapters as well. ^-^) Thank you for your praise! But as for my use of the word "alto" to describe Kurama's voice… It was intentional.

I _am_ aware of the bass to baritone to tenor (to even countertenor) vocal ranges for men, as well as the contralto to alto to mezzosoprano to soprano (to even coloratura) ranges for women. But I _still_ described Kurama as "alto" simply because I imagine him in this fanfic played by his Japanese voice _actress_, Ogata Megumi. (Hers is such a husky alto. ^_^) As for his American voice actor from FUNimation, John Burgmeier… We all know _his_ sultry voice is deeper than that. XD I hope to hear from you again! Please read on!

* * *

**A/N again  
**To everyone who has read, subscribed to, and stood by this fanfic until now: THANK YOU VERY MUCH!  
I know that all of you—including all you anonymous eyes reading amidst the shadows XD—have had questions swirling round your minds all throughout this little fanfic of mine. So I suggest we all take a short break from our regular programming—the fanfic, I mean—and engage in a pretend Q and A portion of sorts that I have typed just for you. \^o^/

**Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)  
**(In which _never_ is "frequent" enough for me to include here XD)

**Hello, Mikageshi.  
**Hello there! *waves* Please, call me Mikage-_chan_. ^-^ Mika-_chan_ is even shorter. It saves more time and (virtual) saliva. XD

**Some story you've got here.  
***unsure if that was a compliment or a complaint* *sweat-drops* Th—Thank you. *laughs nervously*

**I just started reading this. I haven't even reviewed any chapter yet.  
***nods* Then if that's the case… Welcome to my first ever _Yu Yu Hakusho_ fanfic! \^o^/ Please, feel free to read _everything_ you see in these chapters. (Yes, even my responses to other readers' reviews…! Who knows, maybe they had already raised questions, suggestions, or concerns that you have in mind, and I may have already addressed them somewhere in there. XD) How do you find this fanfic so far? I really do hope to hear from you soon!

**But I… don't really have anything to say…  
**For me, having "nothing to say" in a review already says so much. XD You can tell me anything—anything at all. Even that you have nothing to say at the moment. *nods* I'm not rushing you or anything, of course. But I _do_ want you to know why I am so fond of reading reviews:

Reviews excite me. (I'm sure other web authors feel the thrill, too. ^-^) Every time I receive one, I read it and ask myself if I agree with the reader-reviewer who had posted it. And the way my reader-reviewers point out details of my fanfic that I had never even thought of before simply amazes me. They make me reread my own creation with entirely new eyes. *eyes glaze in awe* I enjoy that. A lot. ^_^ I get to learn about you, your preferences, and even myself—particularly how I could improve my writing. So please, review. I love hearing from you! \^-^/

… **I wanted to review an older chapter of yours, but stopped myself because you had already posted more recently.  
**I would _still_ love to read your review, all the same! ^^ Actually, I especially appreciate reviews for chapters that aren't the most recently posted…! They remind me of the "value" of older chapters—without them, my story wouldn't be where it is today. ^-^ So please, review even my older chapters! ^o^

**Speaking of your story… Why is Kurama its main protagonist? Why didn't you follow **_**Yu Yu Hakusho**_** canon and write Yusuke as your lead character?  
**Well, at the end of both the _manga_ and the anime, I found Kurama to be the YYH main character left with the most… _unresolved_ life concerns, if you know what I mean. *nods repeatedly* When we think about it, among the four Spirit Detectives, it's _Kurama_'s future that raises the most—and the most intriguing—questions of all.

**That's a matter of opinion. But yes, I **_**have**_** wondered just what will become of Kurama after canon…  
**I think all of us have. You see, Yusuke's entire life story—including the sudden, overwhelming "I'm a demon descendant?" plot twist—was narrated to us. Kuwabara eventually became a most popular college student—not to mention the human being with the strongest spiritual power in his world (considering Yusuke wasn't entirely human after all). And not only do we know that Hiei is still training himself to be stronger—with Mukuro in his life, too—the series also divulged his most intimate past with us. Considering these three characters alone, one day it just struck me that Kurama's future was so… blank. Uncertain. Sure, he chose career over college, but then what? Will he remain as Minamino Shuuichi until the end of his days as a human? Will he ever settle down with a human anytime in his human life? (Or with a demon? Or something else altogether?) How will he live on as Youko after his human death? You know, _those_ questions.

**Is that why you've written a Kurama x OC—to "straighten out" his future as a human?  
**Sort of. But that's not exactly my reason for doing so. At some point, I felt Kurama was shortchanged in the series. Like he was… deprived… of an actual life partner in canon. Let's think about it, shall we? Yusuke got the girl. (He "got" her early on into the series, too!) Kuwabara somehow ended up with his own girl—who has yet to fully realize the very depth of his feelings for her, but she's getting there. XD And even the stoic, unromantic Hiei had found a fellow wounded, pained soul in the (disfigured, acid-corroded) form of Mukuro. As for Kurama, however… Sure, he did have Maya at first, but in the end, he was left with squat. I just decided to play the equalizer here and try my hand—and imagination—at a Kurama x OC.

**But if you really wanted to give Kurama a "life partner," you could have just written a Kurama x Hiei!  
**Yup, I could have. I probably should have. But I decided to give a Kurama x OC fanfic a shot just to finally get it out of my system. (I've thought and rethought of it for years upon years, and now I finally found the time to write it. ^-^)

**Admit it—you're writing a Kurama x OC simply because you like Kurama!  
**I _will_ admit one thing: I _do_ like Kurama. But I am not projecting myself onto the YYH universe through Setsu—I don't believe in wish-fulfillments through subliminal self-insertions. (That's the making of the god-awful Mary Sue, you know. x_x) But Kurama _has_ been my favorite YYH character since the very first time I watched the anime… thirteen years ago. ^^; Hiei, Kaname, and Yusuke may all be a charming sort of brat—a bratty sort of charming XD—but Kurama's gentle strength impressed me. I haven't forgotten him until now. *swoons* Oh, but I'm fond of Kuwabara, too. Just not as much as I am of Kurama. XD

**So you admit you're a Kurama fangirl!  
**Yup. Or at least I think so. *chuckles* If you've read my second YYH fanfic, entitled _**Stop Obsessing over Kurama!**_, you would know by now that I _am_ perfectly capable of bashing him to bits. XD I'd like to think of myself as the type of Kurama fangirl who _isn't_ blind to his imperfections. I like him _in spite of_, not _because of_. (Did you get that? Sorry my answer was so weird. ^^)

**Yes, you do bash his character. You did it in the first chapter of this very story!  
**Right. *sweat-drops* I did, didn't I? But I did so in the persona of my OC—who isn't so "original" an OC as you may think she is. _Her_ opinions of Kurama do _not_ necessarily speak for my own. I love that human-demon hottie. XD

**O… kay. So why is the title of this story **_**The Kurama whom Kurama Never Knew**_**?  
**Such a long title, isn't it? XD It was not of my intention to keep it as the title of this fanfic, actually. It was supposed to be the title of just the first chapter of this fic. (Long story short, this was supposed to be just a one-shot.)

**O.O So what was supposed to be your actual Kurama story, then?  
**A multi-chaptered fanfic entitled _Kurama's Forgotten_. (That would have been a much shorter title. XD) That title may be interpreted in two ways.  
One: _Kurama's Forgotten_ _something_, such as his _Past_, _Secret_, _Family_, and so on.  
And two: _Kurama HAS Forgotten_.

**Would that story have been different from this one?  
**Not by much. That potential fanfic would have had the same central plot as this one, and Setsu would still be its OC. The only real difference between that scrapped fic and this one would have been Kurama and Setsu's "first" meeting—just Chapter 1, really.

**How would they have met in that story?  
**The other Chapter 1 would have involved a flower shop and a defective gardening hose. *sweat-drops* I don't know how _that_ would have worked out. XD

**I want to read how that happened!  
***long pause* … But it didn't. *sighs* Anyway… Just to give you a clearer mental image, here: Kurama was the lone employee of his stepfather's flower shop. (Not exactly the corporate center we expected, isn't it? XD) One day…

The little golden bell atop the flower shop door chimed.  
Kurama whirled to find a short-haired brunette carelessly slamming the shop door behind her. Their eyes met. A voice from the back of his mind told him she wasn't there for the poinsettias on sale.  
"Your nametag," a low, mellow voice suddenly murmured, icy blue eyes glinting dangerously. "It says 'Shuuichi.' But that's not your real name, _ne_?"  
A gasp caught in Kurama's throat.  
_Just what is with this_ ningen_?_ He asked himself. _How did she know…?_

Man—that was awful! XD

**I can see you prefer the Chapter 1 you stuck with.  
**Hands down! *laughs hysterically* The Chapter 1 you clicked upon may have involved the cliché "Kurama saves the OC" plot, I know, but at least the mystery in it wasn't too… startlingly rushed. XD

**You know, you still haven't explained why your current title is what it is.  
***sweat-drops* Oops. Sorry about that. *chuckles nervously* That title expresses my exact objective in writing this story. I will expose to you the Kurama whom you—and he himself—never knew before.

**So this story will answer **_**everything**_** that we have all been wondering about him?  
**Yes. I shall leave no question unanswered. ^-^ (Although what I seem to be doing as of right now is posing more and more questions—*laughs*—their answers shall all be revealed when the time is right. *grins proudly*) This is the story of Kurama's journey towards self-discovery, really. I'm just taking (excruciatingly) long to write it. *sweat-drops*

**Kurama's self-discovery? But the mystery seems to be all about—  
**Sorry I interrupted you there. I just want to point something out to you. Have you noticed the title of each chapter of this fanfic?

**Chapter titles? What about them?  
**Did you notice they're from Setsu's point of view?

**They are?  
**Yup. *nods repeatedly* They're all _her descriptions of Kurama_. For instance, in Chapter 1 she called Kurama "the weirdest gardener (she had) ever (met)." And so on. She will keep on revealing more and more facets of him to us until we get to those chapters wherein we learn of his hidden self—the self that even _he_ didn't know was there. ^^

**But there's something wrong with what you just said. In Chapter 4, Kurama and Setsu weren't even together in any scene, so it **_**wasn't her**_** who described him as "the imaginative nocturnal"! Right?  
**So _who_ described him as that?

**It was that invisible creature that crept up to him in his room!  
**You're absolutely right. *smiles meaningfully* Come to think of it, Kurama and Setsu weren't together in Chapter 10, either. And she didn't describe him in that chapter at all.

**So why was Chapter 10 entitled **_**The Unknowing, Unknown Rival**_**?  
***smiles even more meaningfully* You'll just have to read on to find out why. ^-^

"**Read on" again? Anyway, this story is set in a post-canon timeline, right?  
**Yup. I never blurted it out anywhere in this entire fanfic, but yup. Here, Yusuke is already an out-of-school, self-employed ramen peddler. Kuwabara and Keiko are attending college. Yukina is living with Kuwabara's family. Hiei is saddled with patrolling duty (but just recently got out of it—thanks to Mukuro). And Kurama is working in his stepfather's office. But that's not the only thing he'll be doing for long. *wink*

**What else will he be doing?  
**Again, you'll just have to read on to find out. ^-^

**How old is Kurama in this story, anyway?  
**He's entering his twenties. *gasp* Yeah. He, Maya, and Kaitou are nineteen in this fanfic. Consequently, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Keiko are eighteen. Kaname, Setsu, and Nami are two years Kurama's juniors, so they're seventeen. Meanwhile, Koenma is _still_ a baby, Shizuru is _still_ in her twenties, Genkai is _still_ way older than the gang, and I _still_ don't know Hiei and Yukina's actual age. XD And Botan is _still_ ageless. ^^

**Why is Setsu two years younger than Kurama?  
**So that she could address him with the honorific _sempai_. *laughs* (It could be kind of kinky. *wink*) Kidding aside, I purposely intended for Setsu and Kaname to be classmates, so the two of them had to be roughly the same age. And Kaname really is younger than Kurama in canon… *nods* But there _is_ another reason behind it, which all of you will know when the mystery behind Setsu is finally revealed. ^^

**And when you said Kurama's "entering his twenties"… Do you actually know his birthday?  
***nods* I read it in a Japanese anime magazine once. It's the 22nd of June. (An advanced Happy Birthday to our favorite redhead! XD)

**June 22! *marks calendar* Did that magazine mention anything about a year?  
**No, but according to a most informative YYH website I surfed into a long, long time ago, Kurama was supposedly born in the year 1975. (*reels back* Whoa.) But it _does_ make sense when we think about it, because YYH was created in 1990 and human Kurama was already fifteen years of age when the series began… So, yeah. 1975.

**So Kurama is now…!  
**Since it's now 2010 as I type this, he's thirty-freaking-five. (*reels back even more* Again. Whoa.) But anyway, for all intents and purposes in this story, let's just go with nineteen-turning-twenty-soon. Okay?

**Okay. I wouldn't want to read about Kurama getting together with an OC at age **_**thirty-five**_**, anyway.  
**Neither would I, friend. Neither would I. *laughs hysterically*

**Hey, will we ever get to see the end of that castle heist in Chapter 3?  
**But of course! ^^ Who knows, you might even read it soon! *wink*

**Why did Kurama suddenly turn back into his demon form in Chapter 4? And why did he find it painful?  
**He's not metamorphosing on his own. That much, we know. You might read the reason behind _that_, too, soon. *wink*

**And who was that invisible "friend" of Mukuro's in that same chapter?  
**If you notice, I've been introducing mysterious, invisible characters more often lately. Don't worry. Their identities shall all be revealed when the time is right. ^^

**In Chapter 5, what was that "additional responsibility" Kurama mentioned he would have to shoulder once summer ends?  
**You'll just have to wait until the summer ends to find out. ^-^

**I didn't quite get the point of the song in Chapter 6.  
**As I've already typed at the end of that chapter, the song was Kurama's Theme, entitled _Nightmare_—an insert song in the second YYH movie (the full-length feature one), _Yu Yu Hakusho Meikai Shitou Hen – Honou no Kizuna_ (Yu Yu Hakusho Battle with the Gods of the Netherworld – Bonds of Fire). It was the violin score playing while Kurama and Kuronue—well, the ugly brown dude pretending to be Kuronue, anyway—fought in the movie… The creepy song with the awesome drumming in the foreground. XD

That song is somehow crucial to this fanfic. (Reread its English lyrics. Kurama was already singing of Setsu's true identity there, yet he didn't even know it! XD) So if you don't know how the song sounds, I suggest that you download an MP3 of it (and/or even its instrumental / karaoke / sing-along / no vocals version as well!) on the official Downloads page of this fanfic: **4shared** (dot) **com** (slash) **u** (slash) **Ifbd0xU8** (slash) **Mikageshi** (dot) **html **and listen to it while reading the lyrics again. You _will_ appreciate its English translation much more that way. (You'll be able to sing it! ^^)

**You know, it was very uncharacteristic of Hiei to have gotten hurt the way he did in that chapter.  
**I know that. And I understand your point entirely. There's a reason why it happened. (Spoiler: Hiei had more than one enemy in that scene.) Even _that_ shall be explained soon. ^^

**It wasn't even like him to just obey the orders of someone he had just met, let alone a human.  
**I know that, too. Again, I understand your point entirely. And again, there's a reason why it happened. Hiei's other enemy in that scene wanted—Oops. I shouldn't type it here! (I won't spoil this for everyone! XD) Just read on to find out. ^^

**Setsu. She really has something up her sleeve, doesn't she?  
**Most—if not all—of you knew that from Chapter 1 alone. Kurama himself grew suspicious of her by Chapter 2.

**Why can't Kurama just **_**ask**_** her who or what she really is?  
**I think it's only because they're never left alone _long enough_ for him to confront her. That's it. *laughs hysterically* Did you notice that? Everyone else keeps getting in the way. XD Besides, we all know that Kurama takes long to do things. He stalls. Hiei's absolutely right about him there. ^_^

**Err… Is Setsu really related to Kurama's younger stepbrother Shuuichi?  
**At least in this fanfic, yes. Just look at the way they grate each other's nerves. XD _Her_ mother and _his_ father were siblings. The late Mayonaka Kiseki was a Hatanaka before she married Setsu's father. (So Setsu's full name—in English order, anyway—is therefore _Setsuki Hatanaka Mayonaka_. Her middle and last names rhyme, don't they? XD)

**They do. O.O Is Hatanaka Shuuichi's father's first name really Kazuyu?  
**Frankly, I don't know. *laughs hysterically* Some YYH info sites and shrines refer to him as just plain Hatanaka, others as just plain Kazuyu. So I assumed that "Kazuyu" was his _first_ name, and then I married the two names together. (Although I take it the "Kazuyu" name came from the scriptwriters of FUNimation in the U.S. fiddling around with Kurama's stepfamily's names—they turned "Shuuichi" into the horrific "Kokoda," after all. *grits teeth* *seethes in anger*)

**I'm guessing you really insist that Shuuichi is Shuuichi and not Kokoda.  
**He was Shuuichi in the _manga_, at the very least! He isn't that so-called "Kokoda" at all! *spider veins pulsing all over* "Kokoda" isn't even a Japanese name! I'm so angry…! *remembers the FAQ* Oops. Sorry. *sweat-drops* Where were we?

**We were discussing names. Speaking of which, why did you choose the name "Setsu" for your OC? There are many other, "prettier" names out there… "Setsu" sounds like the name of some perverted teenage guy!  
**… Yeah. About that. I _meant_ for Setsu to have a not-so-pretty name.

**Why?  
**She's not so pretty herself, you see. ^-^ She may have a boyfriend—whom she has never even actually acknowledged as her "boyfriend" throughout this entire fanfic!—but she's no girly girl. I thought her name alone should express that. But then I also meant for her to have several nicknames…

**Yes, why **_**does**_** she have a lot of nicknames?  
**They serve to give Kurama the impression that there may be more (identities) to her than meets his eye. Each of her nicknames means something different. On the one hand, when we take Kaname's nickname for her and consider her surname, _Mayonaka Tsuki_ may be translated to English as _Midnight Moon_. (Just a play on words on my part, really.) On the other hand, her father's nickname for her, _Kisetsu_, is translated as _Season_. (You'll know just what _that_ translation has to do with her in later chapters.) But I must say _Setsu_ fits her best—after all, it may be translated as _Opinion_. And we all know just how opinionated she can get. XD

**So you know the English translations of all of your OCs' names?  
**Yup. I don't use any name unless I am a hundred percent certain that it's truly Japanese, and translatable to English. ^^ I cite name translations—even those of the _canon_ characters!—in the Glossary section of my chapters.

**Back to the chapters, then. Were those two mysterious jailed people Koenma visited both Eternals?  
**I don't know. *shrugs* What do you think? *grins*

**I think I know. But why were they jailed in the first place?  
**Maybe they had committed crimes. Or maybe they just needed to be… contained… for some other reason.

**Why was it so important for Koenma to know who had erased that Life Report thingy?  
**Because it doesn't normally happen. As he himself said in Chapter 7, "only three beings" could have done it, and "one of them has been dead for years."

**You know, during Kurama and Amanuma's rematch in Chapter 8, I couldn't tell who was thinking what anymore.  
**Good! XD (No, I'm not being sadistic here. *chuckles*) That event really _was_ supposed to be twisted and tricky to the mind. ^-^ But here's some help: Setsu was the one with the flashbacks; Kurama the one with the angst-ridden guilt. XD

**Did Setsu just alter Kurama's reality in that chapter?  
**I don't know. *shrugs* What do you think? *grins* Remember what Mukuro said in Chapter 4 about the power of the…? *wink*

**Mukuro? What does **_**she**_** have to do with Chapter 8?  
**You'll figure it out. ^-^ Hiei really should get Kurama and Mukuro together sometime. XD She could help him. A lot. ^_^

**What? Kurama and Mukuro? This Q and A is confusing me…  
**Let's just say Kaname x Setsu x Kurama x Maya _aren't_ the only ones whose lives are intricately intertwined in this fanfic. Mukuro has yet to join in. And drag Hiei along, too. ^^

**Do you mean to tell me this is a Mukuro x Hiei x Kurama?  
**No. This fanfic is _not_ a Hiei x Kurama. Or a Kurama x Hiei, for that matter. (Although I _do_ read fanfiction and _doujinshi_ of that pairing. XD Heck, my username itself—_Mikageshi_—is the title of one of my favorite Kurama x Hiei _doujin_, illustrated by Arina Toshimi! *squeals* Kurama was such an evil dominator there! *laughs* It has a sequel now, entitled _Hihou_! \^o^/ Just fangirling here. Don't mind me. *sweat-drops*)

**So this really is a Kurama x OC, then.  
**Unless it becomes a Kurama x Maya. (If you want it to, just say so in a review! ^^)

**Speaking of Maya… **_**Why**_** is she in this story when this is supposed to be a Kurama x OC?  
**Well, Maya _was_ Kurama's love interest from actual canon, after all. If he's ever to have someone new, I believe he should tie up loose ends with his old flame first. ^-^ (That is, if Kurama and Setsu will ever get together, what with Kaname being such a perfect boyfriend and all. XD)

**Speaking of Kaname… In this story, are he and Maya…?  
**Stepsiblings, yes. They're _not_ related by blood, though. Just by affinity—_his_ mother and _her_ father got remarried to each other.

**Are they really stepsiblings in YYH canon?  
**I have never encountered tangible proof of any relationship—familial or romantic—between Kaname and Maya in canon. (All we actually know of Kaname is that he lives—oops, _used to live_—with his mother, brother, and sister *coughwhocouldbeMayacough*. That is, before he finished high school, ran away from home, and was never heard of and from since.) But one of the numerous Kurama web shrines out there mentioned that Maya and the canon YYH character named "Hagiri Kaname" became stepsiblings shortly after Kurama had erased her memories with the Pollen of Forgetfulness. So yeah, I got the "stepsiblings" plot device from that Kurama shrine. Thank—or blame—its webmaster, not me. XD

**Do you like Kaname just as you like Kurama? Is that why you chose **_**him**_** to be Setsu's boyfriend in this story?  
**I find Kaname devilishly handsome, but Kurama still won me over first—and wins me over again and again every time I remember the episodes he starred in. XD I handpicked Kaname to play the "boyfriend" for two reasons. One: Because I thought he was around Setsu's age—falls under the "teenager" bracket, but notably younger than Kurama—so he and Setsu could be believable as classmates in school, at least age-wise. ^^; And two: Because I saw him in my mind essaying a "bad guy" role again. We saw Amanuma Tsukihito, Mitarai Kiyoshi (Seaman), and even the coldblooded murderer (Doctor) Kamiya Minoru walk away from the Sensui saga as changed, reformed men. But not Hagiri Kaname. Even in his very last scene in the series, he _still_ gave off a badass, sort of "vengeful" vibe. Besides…

**Besides…?  
**Do you remember that scene in the Sensui saga wherein Yusuke, Kuwabara (who was about to be kidnapped a cut scene later), and Kurama were chasing after Sensui all over the city when Kaname suddenly flew right onto the pedestrian overpass in his slick blue motorcycle to separate Kurama from the others? Then Keiko, carrying Puu, ran into the scene and butted in Kurama and Kaname's duel? Yeah. _That_ scene. I _saw_ something in that scene.

**O.o Huh? What did you see?  
**Sparks between them. XD *laughs hysterically* Well, my _yaoi_-twisted thinking tendencies aside… I saw the need to write those two particularly good-looking characters in a confrontation of their very own someday. In short, I longed for them to fight. ^^ (Although I have to admit, every time I saw Kaname and the way he would aim his narrow eyes at Kurama, I _really_ thought there was something more… meaningful… in those stolen looks. XD)

**Maybe you should just write a Kurama x **_**Kaname**_** instead of what you've been up to so far.  
**Oh, don't encourage me…! *resists temptation* *trembles from excitement* But please watch out for it… soon. ^-^

**Err… Anyway, why is Setsu **_**not single**_** from the very beginning of this story?  
**Her "unavailability" poses more of a challenge for the potential Kurama-Setsu pairing, of course. ^^ I've always believed in the beauty of an OC who already has someone _else_ in her heart at the time she meets the "true" one for her, you see. It tells all of us that she _did_ have a life before she met the canon character… that she lived that life _independent of him_… that she could—and _does_—go on even without him. I don't like my OCs too clingy to their canon partners. Those are the stuff the most annoying Mary Sues are made of. *mutters a long string of Mary Sue-directed profanity under her breath*

**I get it—you hate Mary Sues. I noticed you also hate Maya, what with the way you portrayed her in the beginning of Chapter 9.  
**I _don't_ hate Maya. Really. I don't. *nods vehemently* I hope you also noticed my (failed?) attempt at assigning likable characteristics to her. We all know she's very much in tune with her spiritual senses and she's a big fan of the supernatural. But I also considered her to be intelligent in her own right—to me, she sounded as opinionated as Setsu somewhere in that chapter! XD—generous, loving, courageous, and adventurous… In fact, so adventurous that her sense of adventure leads her to danger. *shakes head in disapproval* But Maya is not Setsu. (And Setsu is not Maya.) I made sure of _that_. ^_^

**At first, I thought Setsu was Maya… But I guess I was wrong.  
**Maybe it was because I specifically stated in Chapter 1 that Setsu was _not_ my own OC, and that she appeared in only one YYH episode—the 94th one, in just one scene with Kaname.

**But wasn't that girl in that scene Kaname's **_**sister**_**?  
**Sister, sweetheart, I don't know for sure. But I _do_ know why many YYH fans believe that that girl was Kaname's sister. It was because the narrator—whom we know by now was Saotome Jorge, Koenma's right-hand ogre XD—narrated of Kaname's family right in that scene wherein the girl was shown. Since Narrator Jorge mentioned that Kaname does in fact have a "sister," the fans who especially prefer Kaname to be single (and therefore available XD) instantly assumed that the girl in the scene was indeed his "sister" just to eliminate the possibility of him being "taken." XD But I personally did not mind the prospect of him actually being in a relationship with that girl I saw in the series. So I assumed they were together—romantically. ^-^

**But the girl in that scene had psychic powers. She couldn't have been Setsu, because Setsu—  
**We can't be too sure about that, can we? ^-^ I think you've noticed by now that Setsu _does_ have powers of her own. Now whether Setsu's "powers" do resemble those of the girl in Episode 94 is up to you to determine when you read more about her "powers" in future chapters. XD

**But the girl in that scene could have been Maya, considering Maya has psychic powers!  
**True. Although Kurama described her as having just a "strong spiritual awareness" and not necessarily "psychic powers" per se, I'll agree with you on that possibility. Still, we must consider how Maya and that girl in Episode 94 _look_. In the color version of _Two Shots_—the bonus chapter after Volume 7 of the _manga_ where Maya made her first (and only) appearance in the entire series—she had _wide_, _dark brown_ eyes. But the girl in Episode 94 had _very narrow_, _light-colored_ eyes… light blue, almost lilac, even. And I based my descriptions of my Setsu character on that very girl in Episode 94. So I daresay that the girl in Episode 94 is not at all Maya, and I just happened to give her a name and a personality. XD

**All right, the girl in that scene with Kaname was your Setsu. But why did you choose that particular extra as your "OC"? You could have created your own OC instead!  
**Simple: The girl in that scene with Kaname fascinated me. ^-^ Please, watch that scene again. For a mere extra in the series, that girl had a lot of lines—a lot of touching, impressive lines. In such a short scene, she had made—and left—her mark. She was so poignant… so human. We all knew her feelings well: Mourning, for the dead animal before her eyes… Loathing, towards the boys who had slain it… Helplessness, for failing to save its life… We even saw her reveal her sorrow—her very vulnerability—to Kaname. *cheeks warm up* Everything about her was beautiful… real… to me. So I thought of paying a tribute to her character by actually writing her. Together with Kaname, too.

**I never knew you had put some thought into Setsu's character even before you started writing her.  
***blushes* I did. This fanfic _was_ a ten-year-old idea, after all.

**What do you mean by that?  
**"Ten-year-old" in two senses of the word. One: I first cooked up the entire plot of this fanfic when I was just _ten years old_. And two: Considering it's been so long since then, this story has taken (slightly more than) _ten years_ in the making. ^^ So yeah, this was a "ten-year-old" idea. XD

**You first thought of this story when you were **_**ten**_**?  
***chuckles nervously* Yup, but I've rethought and rethought of it countless times since then. (I'm a hopelessly pathetic YYH fan, I know. XD) But the first OC I had ever wanted to pair up with Kurama _wasn't_ Setsu.

**You had an OC in mind for Kurama back then? What was she (supposed to be) like?  
**Her name was supposed to have been Miwasaka Kimura. (That's in the Japanese order, by the way. I came up with it at a time I _couldn't_ translate to the Japanese language yet—which is why it's such an ugly-sounding, nonsensical name. XD) Purple eyes. (So typically Mary Sue, I know. XD) Long, fiery red hair. As tall as human Kurama, leggy, eye-pleasingly slender. Looked bombastically gorgeous in a sleeveless white robe that billowed by her strappy sandaled feet. Very perky, hyper personality. Floated all the time, because she had powers over wind. Flirtatious as sin. Loved brushing her hands along Kurama's face. XD She would have been his opponent in the Dark Tournament. Ugh. *brushes the mere idea aside* Then one fateful day, I realized she reminded me too much of the canon character Jin—heck, even her potential clothes design resembled his too closely for comfort! XD—so I deeply, deeply regretted ever having entertained thoughts of her, eventually moved on from my rookie mistake, and am heartily laughing about it now. XD

**That was weird.  
**Yes. It was. XD (Aren't you just glad I ended up writing Setsu and not her? XD)

**I guess it could have been worse. Now, back to Setsu. Kaname seems to like her voice so much. Sure, you've described it as "low" and "mellow." But I just can't imagine hearing it for myself.  
**I can. In fact, each time she speaks in this fanfic, I could almost hear her with my mind's ear. XD Every brutish grunt, every cruel comment… Yeah. I've been thinking of the Japanese voice actress who could best deliver her lines according to how I've depicted her to be.

**You have a voice actress in mind for her? That's—  
**Sorry to cut you off again. I know, you think I'm totally sick. XD But I'll still tell you whom I've come up with, anyway. *grins* It's Paku (Park) Romi, the Japanese-Korean voice actress best known for her portrayal of Edward Elric in _Hagane no Renkinjutsushi_ (_Fullmetal Alchemist_ and _Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood_). She has also lent her voice to the characters Hitsugaya Toushirou (of _Bleach_), Tao Ren (of _Shaman King_), and Hyuuga Natsume (of _Gakuen Alice_).

**But those are all **_**male**_** characters! You mean Setsu sounds more like a "strong prodigy **_**guy**_**" than an actual girl?  
**Well, Paku-_sama_ has also voiced Temari (of _Naruto_ and _Naruto Shippuuden_) and Osaki Nana (of _Nana_), so she could obviously pull off female voices, too. ^-^ You should listen to her singing _**Returnable Memories**_ **(from the **_**Hagaren Song File – Edward Elric**_** album of Fullmetal Alchemist)** and _**Naked Flower**_ **(from the anime Murder Princess)**, the MP3s of which you can download from here: **4shared** (dot) **com** (slash) **u** (slash) **Ifbd0xU8** (slash) **Mikageshi** (dot) **html**

And_ that_'s how I imagine Setsu sounds! What a mature, powerful voice! \^o^/

**But you said she was actually a one-time character in YYH… Surely **_**someone**_** voiced her when she appeared in the anime!  
**Yup. When she appeared in that one scene in Episode 94, she was voiced by Kanai Mika.

**Who's she? I mean, who are the anime characters she's known for?  
**… I don't know. *sweat-drops* But hers is _not_ the voice I have in mind for Setsu, unfortunately. She sounded just too whiny and shrill for my taste.

**Wait… Doesn't Setsu's voice get strained easily? Why do you imagine her with Paku Romi's powerful voice, then? Shouldn't she sound weak?  
**Yes, her voice _does_ crack when she shouts too often or for too long. But that _doesn't_ automatically make her sound "weak." I imagine she sounds commanding without having to raise her voice. It speaks much of her character—that she could "speak softly, yet carry a big stick," if you know what I mean. ^^;

**Have you also chosen an **_**English**_**-speaking voice actress for her?  
**No. I don't know enough American and other English-speaking voice actresses to accurately select one for her. (I don't know whose voice could possibly blend and meld with that of the heavenly-sounding John Burgmeier—Kurama's English voice actor from FUNimation. *faints*) But I do think Ogata Megumi-_sama_ (Kurama's Japanese voice actress) and Paku Romi-_sama_ would be _so_ much fun to hear together! *squees* (Both their voices are so androgynously alto that we might not be able to tell who's dubbing Kurama and who's dubbing Setsu between those two! XD I'm just imagining here. ^^)

**Still, a voice actress…! Are you obsessed with Setsu or something?  
**No. Not at all! (Please don't think that! *holds hands up in the air defensively*) I'm just having relatively harmless fun with her character. XD At the risk of you assuming I'm even more "obsessed" with her than you already think I am… I would love to inform you that I have an artist friend—and by that I mean an illustrator, not a singer XD—who is already drawing for this very fanfic. ^-^ She goes by multiple usernames in FF dot Net, so I'll just introduce her and her masterpieces to all of you when she's ready. I can't wait! \^o^/

**Art. O.O Kurama x Setsu art… Suddenly, I wonder… Could Setsu ever cuddle close to Kurama? What with her allergy to roses, and him… you know…  
**I don't know. *chuckles* Besides, I don't even think she would ever want to. *sweat-drops* But I _can_ tell you one thing: That allergy of hers will play quite a significant role by the end of this story. I'm so excited to type it already, and yet we're still just in Chapter 11! *groans to herself*

**So far, among Kurama's circle of friends, she's met only Yusuke. (And Hiei?) But when will she meet the others?  
**Sooner than you think. *wink*

**Will Kurama also get to meet the special people in Setsu's life? (As few as they are…)  
**But of course. ^-^ They'll _love_ him! XD Except for one of them, but I think you already know why. ^^;

**Why has Kurama been such an older brother—and not enough of a son—in this story so far?  
**Good observation. It's because I had to establish his closeness to Shuuichi—as well as _Setsu_'s closeness to Shuuichi—early on into this fanfic. The young boy is the one thing they have in common right now. ^^

**But what about his mother? Will Kurama and Shiori ever have a "bonding" moment?  
**Of course. ^-^ When the time is right.

**Is Shuuichi the only thing Kurama and Setsu will ever have in common?  
**No. When a door closes, a window opens. *falls silent* *suddenly laughs hysterically* I mean, when Setsu leaves the Minamino residence, they will be together again somewhere else. A new arc shall begin.

**Arc? You mean this story has **_**arcs**_**?  
**Yes, though I've never actually mentioned them in any chapter. I divided this entire fanfic into separate arcs only in my mind. Would you like to know how I had broken down my current chapters so far?

**I guess it wouldn't hurt.**

FIRST ARC: PRE-MOVING IN  
These are the chapters with events that occurred _before_ Setsu moved into the Minamino home, namely Chapters 1 to 5. (She was officially their guest by the end of Chapter 5, right?) In this arc, Setsu's "role" in Kurama's life changed from Total Stranger to Potential Enemy.

SECOND ARC: MOVED IN  
In this arc, Setsu is already in the Minamino home. This is the arc we are in right now. (As of this moment, it's _still_ only Setsu's first day in the Minamino home. Man, her first day is _long_! XD) Chapter 6 transpired on her first night there, Chapter 7 in the morning afterwards, Chapter 8 in the noontime. This time, she changed from Potential Enemy to My Stepbrother's Cousin.

Mini-Arc: _Gaiden  
_Chapters 9 and 10 are the _gaiden_ (extra) chapters of the second arc. They contribute very little to the _current_ plot of the story, but do explain Kurama's past with Maya as well as Setsu's past with Kaname. Whatever are the questions that those two _gaiden_ left unanswered… Don't worry. There's the rest of this fanfic for those.

THIRD ARC: MOVING OUT  
Because we all know that Setsu can't stay in Kurama's home forever. ^-^ But it's not as drastic a separation as you may think. (It won't last long—we know that for sure.) Of course, her role will change again.

And the Fourth Arc will have more fangirls, more mysterious invisible characters, more attempts on lead characters' lives, and more Kurama-Setsu. You know, this story is nowhere near over. ^_^

**Are you sure you're not veering off-course yet?  
**I understand why you're concerned that I might be getting sidetracked from the main story by now. My flashback sequences are becoming longer and longer, I know. But I assure you, Kurama is getting closer and closer to cracking this case. He is figuring it all out one chapter at a time. Please be patient. ^-^

**You seem to know this story through and through. Do you know how many more chapters there will be?  
**… Yes.

**How many?  
**Ask me again and I'll be happy to tell you through a private message (PM). Just… not here. (I wouldn't want to shock the readers who prefer not to know. XD)

**So you also know how this story will end, then?  
**… Yes.

**Does that mean you're not open to plot suggestions at all?  
**On the contrary, I am most open to suggestions. The mystery of it all makes the plot of this fanfic very flexible, so I could cope with sudden plot changes. I would even appreciate suggestions from all of you! \^-^/ Any additional antagonists, anyone? XD

**Speaking of them… Who is/are the main antagonist(s) of this story, anyway?  
**I think you know them by now. ^-^ But I must warn you: There is a _very_ fine line between "good" and "evil" with these characters. Anyone whom you thought was on one side could have been working for the other all along.

**But we get to read their thoughts… Kurama's and Setsu's, anyway. Why don't you write anyone else's?  
**There is a reason behind that, but you will find out only by the end of this entire fanfic. ^^

**Can't you ever write this story from the first person point of view, then? (Particularly from the perspective of someone who is **_**not**_** Kurama or Setsu?)  
**I can, but then I would be ruining _that_ particular mystery. Coax me enough in the Reviews page, and I might just change my mind. ^-^

**Will we ever see more of Kurama's past?  
**Yeah. Oh yeah. Hell yeah. And did I mention yeah? XD

**Will we ever see Kurama and Hiei in a scene together?  
**At this point in the fanfic, it may seem as though I will never write them together. But I will. Of course. ^-^ It ain't YYH without Kurama and Hiei together. XD

**Is Setsu's past tied with Kurama's?  
**I don't know. *shrugs* What do you think? ^^

**Is she an Eternal? Is she the very Eternal in Kurama's dream in Chapter 3? How did she become human? Does she have another form? Is—  
***holds hands up* Whoa! *chuckles* One at a time, please. My mind's too slow. XD

**Is she aware that she's an Eternal?  
**Who said anything about her being an Eternal? XD

**I can see you're becoming uncooperative. So why does it seem as though she **_**doesn't**_** want to divulge her secret to Kurama, yet her actions indicate otherwise?  
**She's a complicated, counter-intuitive character. XD But then there's a reason behind everything—every mysterious, random, quirky thing—she does. Kurama is very intelligent, anyway. He'll figure this mystery out. And so will you. ^-^

**By the way… Why do you call stories "fanfics"?  
**As you may already know, it's really just a contraction for "fanfiction." I picked it up when I first joined FF dot Net, and it has stuck with me ever since, I guess. ^^

**And why do you use **_**so**_** much Japanese in this story?  
**I actually did _not_ expect to sprinkle Japanese words so liberally in this fanfic. My intention in doing so is _not_ to show off my Japanese vocabulary or anything of that sort, but to encourage all of you to appreciate the Japanese version of YYH.

The English version of YYH somehow disappointed me, you see. The scriptwriters of FUNimation played around with the YYH dialogues so much that the original "aura" or "feel" of the characters got lost in the (brilliantly witty, but rather inexact) translation. By incorporating Japanese in this fanfic, I wanted to expose all of you to the words that the characters actually said in the original dub. And somehow, to their native culture as well. I (try to) feed your imaginations with a taste of the true culture of YYH canon by exposing you to their native language, their local food, et cetera.

**Any more Japanese and I'm not reading this story any further!  
**I'm sorry you feel that way. If the Japanese words in this fanfic only served to turn you away, then all right. No hard feelings. Live and let live. I'll keep writing this fanfic to its end, and you go on your way. Thank you for reading, all the same.

**Do you even actually **_**know**_** Japanese?  
**Yes. (Enough to watch Japanese dubs without subtitles, anyway.) I teach the English language to Japanese students and professionals, you see. ^^ Knowing their native language makes it much easier for me to recognize their areas of improvement in learning English. Besides, I love anime and _manga_ so much that I prefer watching and reading them raw—in their native language. ^-^

**You **_**teach**_**? You sound old!  
**I _did_ tell you even before the very beginning of this fanfic that I first watched YYH twelve—now thirteen—years ago… *sweat-drops* Anyway, I'm just _slightly_ older than Kurama is in here. XD And I'm going back to school soon. Post-grad university, though, but it's still school. *laughs uncomfortably* So I'm still younger than other FF dot Net users out there. I don't even look my age. ^_^

**Speaking of looks… Do you look anything like Setsu?  
**No. Not at all. My eye color is that of Yusuke's. Hair color, alternating between Sensui's (indoors) and Shizuru's (under the sun)—strong shampoos have blackened it over the years, you see. *sweat-drops* Hair length, roughly two inches shorter than that of Kurama's. And (thank goodness) I'm half a foot taller than Hiei. *laughs hysterically* Besides, any authoress or writer closely resembling her OC—physically, or in any other aspect of humanity—is a surefire sign of a Mary Sue. I wouldn't allow one of _those_ in my fanfic. Sues really suck. ^^

**Back to your Japanese. Did you watch or read YYH in Japanese?  
**I read the _manga_ in English, but I watched all episodes in three languages: first my native language (thirteen years ago), then Japanese (just last year), then finally English (right after watching the Japanese version). Oh, John Burgmeier—your silky voice melts me. *giddy all over*

**You mean neither Japanese nor English is your native language?  
**Yup. Neither of them. So please pardon whatever English lapses you come across while reading my fanfic, okay?

Thank you for reading this far! \^o^/

**Happy writing!  
***grins in appreciation* Happy reading to you, too!

* * *

**YOUR TURN!  
****Now that I've answered your questions, please answer FIVE of mine in a REVIEW!** (I know I have the option to post them up in the form of polls, but I would rather not. Polls may tell me your answer of choice, but they **don't** give us the opportunity to interact with each other. **I would love to know not just your answers, but also **_**why**_** you chose them as answers, too.** ^-^)

**ONE: Would you like my chapters SHORTER from now on? **(Would you like me to limit my word count for each chapter to, say, half of my usual?) **Or is my usual chapter length just fine with you?**

**TWO: Would you prefer future chapters to be written in the FIRST person point of view instead of what I'm doing now? **(Although I already told you that there _is_ a reason why Kurama's and Setsu's thoughts are the only ones I could openly share…)** If you would, would you prefer only SOME chapters be written that way, or ALL of them?**

**THREE: **Writing Chapters 9 and 10 confused me so much as to my pairing preferences! So now I feel the need to ask all of you… **Whom do you want to end up with Kurama and WHY?  
****A: Maya!  
****B: Setsu!  
****C: Maya at first, then he will eventually learn that Setsu… yeah…  
****D: Someone else altogether.** (If you answer this, please specify who.)  
**E: Hiei.** (So you want me to turn this straight OC story into a _yaoi_? Let's see…)

**FOUR: Do you want me to STOP using Japanese words in this fanfic? **If you do… Should I stop altogether? Or may I retain the honorifics (-_chan_, -_kun_, - _san_, -_sempai_, etc.); Setsu's _Iie_, _Oyaji_, and _Mengo_; and Kurama's _Iiya_, _Jitsu wa_, and _Warii kedo_? **Or should I just stick to status quo, and keep providing a glossary at the end of every chapter? Or should I just LESSEN my use of Japanese words in the future, and/or NOT introduce any more new ones? **The choice is yours!

And **FIVE: **I'm seriously getting tired of editing myself. **Anybody want to be my beta?** ^^

I hope to hear from ALL OF YOU—  
**3**, **A Last Kiss For Succubus**, **Aisop**, **AkaMizu-chan**, **AmethystLyre**, **Anaea**, **animegirl2961**, **Athena'sOracle**, **bleedingcrimson**, **bloodoftheangels**, **bluekitsune251**, **Crazy anime chick since 1993**, **crazyagent013**, **Cute Little Foxy**, **Dance of Flame**, **DiesIrae773**, **DoilyRox**, **Dragon of Twilight**, **Fruor** (I know you're reading this XD), **justme**, **Kaori Minamino**, **Kitty243**, **krm3DeeDee**, **kuramacherry**, **lightlovebunny**, **loser94**, **Lunalom**, **Lykopis08**, **MAZTERMIND**, **Meeka**, **Micah Rapp Cullen**, **Milli**(dot)**Helen** and **n a g a s h i** (dot)** n o **(dot)** k u r o **(To both of you: Sorry I didn't properly type in the periods in your usernames—the folks at FF dot Net have a bad habit of mutilating whatever they mistake to be URLs, and I didn't want them to do just that to your names ^-^), **Naitza-Kururugi**,** Nancy**, **Pewter Queen**, **rain chant**, **Reader in the Corner**, **Reclun**, **Rerenalie**, **S.**, **SexyZexy**, **soren011**, **Sparkles of Youthfulness**, **Unita**, **Utopian**, **VampireOnFire**, **WorldsAngel**, **yellow worm**, and **Yuki-chan**—  
as well as **all of you readers I haven't met yet**!

**Please answer my questions in a REVIEW! ^-^**

* * *

**A/N yet again  
**But wait! Before you report me to the FF dot Net authorities for posting a Chapter 11 that does not in any way resemble a story chapter at all… Here are two _outtakes_ from Chapter 10! (As if that chapter wasn't long enough as it was already…! XD)  
P.S. Oh, and if you liked Chapter 10, I wrote Mini-Chapter 2 just for you. ^-^

**11: Setsu's Nicknames  
**(Because she assigns strange sobriquets to those she loves)

**Mini-Chapter 1: Nami-**_**chan  
**_Alternative Mini-Chapter Title: **Setsu's First Friend**

"Minaku-_chan_!"

Sighing to herself, the six-year-old Setsu did not even bother to look up from the last page of her doodle-filled notebook. _Here they go again._

From day one, Akasaki Minaku had always been the center of attention of the preparatory level of Mushiyori Elementary. The entire school year had been their most awkward one yet—they were out of kindergarten, yet not quite first-graders until the next academic year. While the prep level boys whiled their lunch hour away roughhousing and wrestling against each other, the girls had taken to blind idolatry.

Of none other than Akasaki Minaku's older sister, Mifuyu.

So naturally, everyday sounded the same to Setsu.

"_Ne_, _ne_, Minaku-_chan_! When is your '_Nee-chan_ holding her next concert?"

"What's the title of the song she's composing now?"

"_KYAAA!_ Fumi-_sama_ is _sooo_ pretty!"

"I can't wait to buy her new album!"

"I can't wait for you to gimme her new album!"

"Is she going out with—"

"I like the dress Fumi-_sama_ wore in that music video!"

"Minaku-_chan_, when will you get me her autograph?"

"Posters!"

"More pictures!"

"I want to meet her in person!"

The ever-smiling Minaku giggled at her circle of best friends, all passionate fangirls of the internationally famous Japanese pop singing-songwriting sensation Fumi.

"_Minna-san_—" Her grin especially wide, Minaku called for everyone's attention. "—I promise I'll get you all more posters and pictures of Mifuyu-_'nee-chan_ the next time we see each other!"

She suddenly found herself surrounded by furious frowns.

"Yeah, but when?"

"That's what you said last month!"

"Are you _sure_ you're Fumi-_sama_'s younger sister?"

A quiet distress crossed the typically bubbly Minaku's face. "Of course I am! It's just that…"

_Hn?_ Sketching away at the back of her notebook, Setsu heard the sorrow suppressed in what had always been her cheery classmate's melodious, musical voice.

"… I haven't seen her yet."

"For a _month_?"

"Don't you two live in the same house?"

Young but nonetheless knowing, distant blue eyes finally rose from a notepad and settled on a now troubled yet still smiling female face.

_That girl,_ Setsu blinked at her most popular female classmate. _Behind that smile, she is so sad._

* * *

"I can't tell them Papa and Mifuyu-'_nee-chan_ don't live with me and Mama anymore!"

An unusually unsmiling Minaku swept her skirt to the side and seated herself beneath the oldest apple tree in the Mushiyori Elementary schoolyard. She looked up at one particularly unripe green apple dangling from a thin, twig-like branch.

"They wouldn't understand!"

She just hated it—that sick, heavy feeling that never failed to consume her every time she would remember her Mama and Papa yelling at each other at the top of their lungs. Sure, her older sister Mifuyu would come and save the day by calming their parents down and reasoning with them, but whenever she would go on tour as the international artist Fumi, Minaku would shoulder the burden all on her own. Once the elder of the two Akasaki children stepped out of their home—or that conflict-torn house that none of its occupants could possibly call "home"—the younger could only cover her ears with her hands and pray for it all to be over soon.

And even in school, her parents were nowhere near her, yet she could still hear their shouting matches ringing in her ears, deafening… depressing… devastating.

"STOP FIGHTING!"

A film of tears coating her eyes, Minaku clapped her hands over her ears and began singing one of her sister's own compositions, drowning out the voices plaguing her memories and mind.

Her back slouching against the old, wrinkled trunk of the very same apple tree, a Setsu with her trusty notebook on her lap bit back a gasp.

_That smile._ She gripped the pencil in her left hand. _It's gone now._

Interested in spite of herself, Setsu closed her eyes and concentrated on eavesdropping on her classmate. She soon learned that Akasaki Minaku was no Mifuyu. _She doesn't sound anything like her sister,_ she decided after intently listening to several lines of lyrics. Both Akasakis were sopranos, but the younger obviously had less experience. Her musical ear had yet to master matching and mimicking tones and tunes.

But Setsu kept listening anyway. _Then again, that's not necessarily a bad thing._

Her eyes still shut, she did not notice her spiral notebook slipping off her lap and, still spread wide open, plopping onto soft, grassy earth.

Minaku's sudden gasp ended her song.

"Who's there?" snapped the teary-eyed girl, peering around the old tree trunk to catch a glimpse of her silent, secretive companion from behind.

Glassy blue eyes opened in time to trade blinks with big brown ones.

"It's _you_!" Minaku gasped again, pointing an accusatory finger at Setsu. "The girl who's always alone!"

_Hn?_ Before Setsu could manage a word in edgewise, Minaku cried even more loudly. "Oh, no! You heard me sing!"

A surge of tears splashing onto her cheeks, the horrified Minaku scrambled to her feet and ran far, far away.

Propping her notepad back onto her lap, Setsu watched a most familiar female figure ebbing in the distance and brushed loose dirt off a margined white page.

_So what if I heard it? Big deal._

* * *

The prep student secretary raised a quizzical eyebrow. Never had she known her longtime seatmate Minaku-_chan_ to actually be capable of displaying any form of anger at all. Yet there she was, crossing her arms before her chest, as customary of every grumpy grouch in their class.

"I still can't believe she heard me!" The uncharacteristically bad-tempered Minaku's cheeks puffed and pinked as she pouted. "She probably thinks I suck!"

Two of Minaku's fangirl friends followed her poisonous stare with their own curious ones. Their classmate with the celebrity sister had spent the last twenty minutes of their lunch hour boring her eyes into that female loner classmate of theirs sitting by the window.

"Minaku-_chan_, do you have a problem with that Mayonaka person?"

Minaku blinked back another tear threatening to spill from her eye. "She's the only girl in our class who hasn't talked to me all year long! She's mean!"

"She's weird, you know. They say she can't talk!"

"_Eeeeehhhhh?_" wailed a wide-eyed Minaku in disbelief. "Let's just see about that!"

Without warning, the unusually upset girl suddenly rose from her desk and brushed past her friends, confidently striding across the room towards the brunette now staring out the open window.

"Minaku-_chan_!" The class secretary called after her. "What are you—"

"I'm gonna make that girl talk!" Minaku swore to her gal pals over her shoulder, fire in her eyes.

"You can't!" A Fumi fangirl shook her head. "Nobody's ever done that before!"

"I'm different!"

Meanwhile, the typically tranquil Setsu gazed upon the sunlit afternoon sky, playfully twirling the stalk of a fallen apple leaf between her pointer and thumb.

"_Eeto_…!"

A lump caught in Setsu's throat. She whirled in front of her and came face-to-face with none other than a scowling Akasaki Minaku.

"Do you have a problem with me? Did you hate my singing?" Minaku rapidly fired question after question, leaving Setsu no time to respond in between. "Is that why you've never talked to me all year long? Don't you know who my '_Nee-chan_ is? _Don't you want to be friends with me?_"

Both Minaku from up close and her group of friends from afar held their breaths as they witnessed the allegedly mute Mayonaka Setsuki part her lips to speak right before their very eyes.

"I do know who your '_Nee-chan_ is. I just don't know who _you_ are."

* * *

Minaku now knew where to find her—that weird young girl with the deep, low voice.

"She sounds old!" She laughed to herself as she neared the oldest apple tree in their campus garden. "Maybe _that_'s why she never talks!"

"_Iie_. I just never talk to anyone not worth talking to."

"_KYAAA!_" Startled out of her wits, Minaku jolted—and nearly jumped—at Setsu's sudden response. "You know, you should talk more often so you wouldn't surprise people like that!"

Setsu buried her nose into her notebook. "Is that all you wanted to say to me?"

"N-No," stammered a still-jumpy Minaku, her legs wobbly as she sank to her knees a few inches beside her antisocial classmate. She balled her hands into fists and pressed them against her lap. "I wanted to ask you what you meant by what you said that time!"

Distant blue eyes tore away from notepad paper and locked onto dazed brown. "I don't believe in befriending someone only because of her sister."

"But if you hang out with us, I promise you can get to meet Mifuyu-_'nee-chan_—"

"You don't want to forever be known as _just_ the sister of a singer, _ne_?" A small left hand playfully twirled a pencil with chew marks on its eraser tip. "Don't you want others to know you for what _you_ can do? Don't you want them to like you for _you_?"

All fell silent.

Those words took Minaku aback. Within seconds, she found the weirdest girl in her class to be the wisest. Her lips curling into an especially broad grin, a now comforted Minaku closed her eyes and giggled to herself.

"You're talkative! Just wait 'til the girls hear about _this_!"

An exasperated Setsu knocked her own temple lightly. _She just missed my point._

"Thank you!"

Setsu suddenly found Minaku's arms thrown around her neck. Her back smacked against the trunk of the old apple tree as the affectionate Minaku pressed against her in a big bear hug.

"I didn't realize you're so nice!"

_Uh… Okaaaaay…_

"My '_Nee-chan_ warned me about what you said, too." Minaku buried a warm, rosy cheek into Setsu's shoulder. "She told me some people will want to be my friend just to get to her! She said they'll…" She jogged her memory for the very word that her sister stressed to her some time ago, and then snapped her fingers in success. "… 'use' me!"

_She could have discouraged you from divulging to anyone that you two are related,_ Setsu eyed her most popular female classmate now fondly embracing her arm. _Then again, perhaps she wanted to gain popularity with your peers…_ "There _are_ people like that out there. But that doesn't mean that you should be suspicious of everyone. Just choose your friends carefully."

"_Un_!" Minaku nodded enthusiastically. "But is that why _you_ don't have any friends yet? Are you too careful?"

A gasp threatened to escape Setsu's throat. _I... I had never given that too much thought before… So_ that_'s the image that I project onto_ ningen _my age… I have no friends…_

"You're always alone," Minaku murmured softly. "Don't you feel lonely?"

At that very moment, Setsu decided to risk sounding older—much older—than their present age. "Contentment needs no company. One can always be alone, but still never be lonely."

She was tempted to ask her ordinary six-year-old human classmate if what she had said was already understandable as it was—

"You talk funny!" Minaku laughed aloud, snorting softly—but a snort remained a snort no matter how soft. "Maybe you don't need friends because you're funny by yourself! I wish I was like you!"

_Akasaki Minaku_. Setsu spoke only in her mind. _Such a deep-seated desire to be anyone else but yourself… yet gifted with such genuine laughter…_

"We're different." Heartfelt laughter suddenly died down. "I'm always with many, many people, but I still feel lonely many, many times. You're right! I wish somebody would look at me and see me as _me_!"

"I see no one else here but you, Nami-_chan_."

Both Nami's eyes and mouth opened wide all at once. "'Nami'?" she repeated, her small yet mellifluous tone rising from the question. "But why—"

"Well, if 'Mifuyu' goes by the alias 'Fumi,' then why shouldn't 'Minaku' be 'Nami' too, _ne_?"

The raven-haired girl's face lit up. "That's smart! Now I know what fake name I'll use when I become a singer just like my '_Nee-chan_!"

"It's not _that_ 'fake' a name," Setsu pointed out, dimples shyly revealing themselves on the corners of her cheeks. "Just think that it's your own personal pseudonym."

"I don't know the meaning of the word you just said, but you're cute when you smile like that, Setsu-_chan_!"

_Hn?_ Widened blue eyes blinked. _So you've given me my own, then._

"May I be your first friend ever, Setsu -_chan_?"

Setsu now knew better than to answer Nami's questions immediately after she asked them.

"I'll get you backstage passes to '_Nee-chan_'s next concert!"

"That sounds like a bribe, Nami-_chan_," chuckled Setsu. "You don't have to do that. Really."

"Okay," sighed Nami. "Then I promise I'll leave you alone when you want to be, but I'll be with you whenever you're lonely!"

_So this is what it's like…_

A shy smile still curling her lips, Setsu's now soft gaze fell onto the rough sketch in the notebook sprawled on her lap.

… _Having a_ ningen _friend._

"Who's that?" Nami pointed to a pencil portrait of a dark-haired man in his late thirties.

"Oh. That's _Oyaji_." Instantly realizing that not all young _ningen_ girls referred to their own fathers as "old men," Setsu clarified herself without hesitation. "My father."

"You call your papa '_Oyaji'_? But he doesn't look old at all!"

"Well, he's not that old _yet_," shrugged Setsu. "But he will be someday."

"_You_ drew this? You drew your Papa from just _looking_ at him?"

_She's so… lively._ "_Aa._"

"Wow! Just wait 'til Mama hears I now have a friend who draws!" Nami giggled to herself yet again. "I'm sure she'd love to see your drawings!"

Suddenly, Setsu ripped the backmost page of her notebook. "You might want this more than I do. Besides, I can always draw him again anyway. So," she left the portrait in Nami's hands. "Here you go."

"Thank you, Setsu-_chan_! I'll show this to Mama tonight! She'll be very proud of you, like I'm sure _your_ mama is!"

_You're "sure" about my_ Haha_? But you haven't even met her yet…_ Setsu closed her eyes, refusing to be blinded by the glint and gleam of Nami's smile.

_Then again, neither have I._

* * *

The telephone in the Mayonaka condominium unit rang.

As soon as Setsu lifted the receiver, a most familiar high-pitched voice squealed on the other end. "SETSU-_CHAN_! IT'S ME—NAMI!"

_Nami…_ She massaged her temple with her free hand. _What if someone else had answered our phone…?_

"Mama saw your drawing, Setsu-_chan_! She said you're really, really good! She also said your Papa is cute!"

_Hn?_ Setsu blinked. _Oyaji?_

Perhaps it was about time for _him_ to make a new female friend of his own as well.

**The end**

* * *

**Mini-Chapter 2: Ame-**_**kun  
**_Alternative Mini-Chapter Title: **Setsu's First Date**

_Greedy yet gentle fingers combed her hair._

"_See? Even your nurse thought you should take more care of that hair of yours." His trademark wicked smirk lit his face yet again. "Tie it once in a while."_

A scowling Setsu rolled her eyes to herself. _The nerve of that guy._ Her elbows bent and her left hand cupping the ball from behind, she raised the Mushiyori gym basketball high above her head. _How I choose to wear my hair should be none of his business._

A pair of mud-caked sports sneakers leapt off the asphalt ground. As she shot the ball, a rippling wave of untied sandy hair flailed straight into her face.

Setsu spat loose strands off her mouth, snatched the long, distracting bunch of brown and threw the lot over her shoulder just as the orange ball bounced off the backboard and dropped right into the basket. She just loved the soft, smooth whoosh of that rubber ball grazing the net. _The sound of success_, she chuckled to herself as she stooped to pick up the basketball. _A ball well shot._

But her jump shot was the only basketball technique she was proud of—the only shot she would dare to perform before her Physical Education classmates' eyes. But she could not even pull it off in an actual game, especially when she was up against the (too) solid defense of that tall point guard from Section One. If it weren't for those penalty free throws she could shoot under tension and time pressure, no team would take her in as a player at all.

Suddenly, a familiar melodious soprano erupted from the court bleachers. "SETSU-_CHAN_!"

Over the years, Nami had always sported her small, form-fitting white gym shirt more fashionably than Setsu ever did. This time, she had rolled her sleeves all the way up her shoulders, baring perfect petite arms now frantically waving in the air for her best friend's attention. "You're going to be late for Home Ec class if you don't get dressed soon!"

"I _am_ dressed," grumbled a still scowling Setsu, exiting the open court with the school basketball jammed between the crook of her arm and her hip. "What you mean to tell me is to dress back into our regular uniform." _Besides, I'm in no rush to make it to Home Economics class, anyway…_

Her eyes closed from her nonstop smiling, a rosy-cheeked Nami giggled at her best friend's acid attitude. "Why aren't you very cute today, Setsu-_chan_? Is it because that boy you like to draw skipped class again?"

Setsu plucked a thin, dry crust peeling off her mouth—the scab from the once-bloody wound in her lower lip. "How many times do I have to tell you—"

"Why do you think Hagiri-_kun_'s been gone for a week now?" Nami sighed to herself. "School just doesn't feel the same without him! The girls in our class are getting more and more depressed by the day!"

Setsu hung her head low. _He had been absenting himself from class since that time…_ Suddenly the most familiar, intimate warmth enveloped her in an embrace, memories of one eventful day flooding her mind. That heavily breathing chest against her back… That strong arm around her waist… Those moist, tender lips on her own…

_That pervert. How dare him—taking advantage of my ill health then never showing his face again! "Kiss and run," did he?_ Her face contorted into a sour, awful mess.

"Including you!"

_Nani?_ Setsu's eyebrow twitched. "Whoever gave you the mistaken idea that I miss him—"

"_You_ did!" A light-heartedly laughing Nami pointed a scandalous finger at her. "Just now! You're all red just thinking of him!"

_I am not…!_ A Setsu in adamant denial looked away, yanking the collar of her oversized T-shirt over her chin and swabbing sweat away. "Nami, I'm tired from all that basketball we just had in gym class."

But her best friend knew better.

* * *

The laces of her gym sneakers wound around her fingers, Setsu opened her shoe locker and found a folded piece of paper stuffed inside one of her black school shoes. _Hn_? She blinked in curiosity. _Did someone sneak inside the shoe locker room during gym?_

The paper in her shoe read:

"Tsuki—  
Keep your gym shorts on for the rest of the day.  
And don't forget your other shoe."

_Tsuki?_ Suddenly, blue eyes widened. _So he was here…!_ And just as suddenly, they narrowed. _But he still didn't attend class…_ An exasperated Setsu massaged her temple with her free hand. _What a waste of a trip to school._

From the corner of her eye, she spotted their longtime class representative at the far end of the locker hall, slipping into his own pair of black leather shoes. _Then again, he may not have wasted a trip after all._ Blue eyes darted from the bespectacled boy to the note in her hand. _He may have had an accomplice do his dirty work for him._

She eyed the letter again, this time more closely.

_But gym shorts?_ _Don't tell me he'll actually show up at the end of the day just to check if I'm still wearing—_

Her face contorted into a sour, awful mess. A fist clenched a small slip of paper.

_That pervert!_

* * *

"I still have a few minutes before choir practice starts," Nami offered as reassurance to a Setsu who did not need it anyway. "What are you planning to do now?"

"Walk the long way home," Setsu mumbled nonchalantly, stuffing her trusty sketchpad into her book bag. Since time immemorial, Nami's Friday afternoons had always been reserved for the after-school glee club, so Setsu was used to spending her share of them alone.

Suddenly, a tiny pebble tapped the glass window by their desks. The junior high girls whirled towards the small but still startling smack.

"What was _that_?" Nami's nut brown eyes widened in surprise.

Setsu's ice blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I believe that 'who' would be a more appropriate question."

She unlocked the latch and slid the glass pane to the side. Both of them peered out the now open window and scanned the faraway figures and faces littering the Mushiyori Junior High entrance road three floors below them.

A slick, shiny blue Yamaha throttled past dazed, dumbfounded students, its driver revving its brand new engine more and more thunderously with each pedestrian he overtook. All eyes turned to the mysterious biker whose helmet and dark visor hid his identity from their view.

Setsu knuckled her own temple. "Oh, no. Don't tell me."

"Wh—Who _is_ that?" Nami leaned towards her best friend, gripping the cynical girl by her forearms. She simply could not take her eyes off the attention-grabbing newcomer. "Setsu-_chan_, do you know?"

More exasperated than ever, a knowing Setsu sighed. "So _that_ explains it," she crossed her arms before her chest and glowered at the motorcycle rider who had just pivoted his vehicle to a stop right beneath their window. "He took a week to learn to drive that."

"_Eeeeehhh_?" blinked a most oblivious Nami, finding herself involuntarily distancing from her best friend when their classmates all huddled in between them, checking out the source of the engine-like rumble just outside the windows of their classroom. "Setsu-_chan_, do you mean—"

Annoyance crossed Setsu's face the moment several members of the Hagiri Kaname Fan Club unintentionally—but still quite brutally—shoved her off and away from the window. She was about to clap a muffling hand onto Nami's mouth when a careless male classmate of theirs stepped into the crowd—and right on her foot.

"—that's Hagiri-_kun_?"

_Why did you_ have _to say his name, Nami? Whyyyyy?_ Dry tears trickled down a comically mortified _chibi_ Setsu's face. She was all too aware of the consequences of the mere mention of that particular name. But now it was too late.

"Hagiri-_sama_?"

"_That's_ Hagiri-_sama_?"

"It IS!" gasped the self-proclaimed president of the Hagiri Kaname Fan Club. "_That_'s how hot I imagine his bod looks in street clothes!"

Countless pairs of female eyes turned into throbbing red and pink hearts. "_KYAAAAA!_"

Without warning, their female classmates stampeded out their classroom in full force. As the fastest of them spilled into the hallways and sped to that sinfully handsome classmate of theirs whom they had missed for too long—far, far too long—Setsu snaked in between the last of the pack to leave. She grabbed onto the now-abandoned window ledge and thrust her head out for her foolish, foolish male friend to see.

"So you got what you wanted," she spat towards the head in the helmet, her vocal volume not loud enough to reach the ears. "Did you have to miss a week of class for it?"

"_What?_" Hard of hearing, the motorbike driver lifted his helmet off his head and proved Setsu right all along. Kaname hung his helmet by one end of the handlebar of his new bike and stretched both his arms out into the air.

_Hn?_ Setsu raised a curious eyebrow. _Hagiri_-kun_, what are you—_

"Jump!"

_Nani?_ She gripped the ledge more tightly than before. _Did he just tell me to jump_ three floors down_ a building?_ "Are you se—"

"Don't make me hear my own echo, Tsuki!"

By now, Nami and everyone else remaining in their classroom bore strong, speechless eyes right into her skin. The undivided yet undue attention was just killing her. "But Hagiri-_kun_—"

"You _are_ wearing it, aren't you?"

_So_ this _was why he wanted me to…_ Setsu shook her head to herself. _But those who don't know what he means might get the wrong idea…!_

Shooting hurried glances at their curious classmates slowly but surely surrounding her by the second, she forced all the air out of her lungs for her next outcry. "You _seriously_ want me to get killed trying to jump three floors—"

Shooting hurried glances at his frantic fangirls slowly but surely surrounding _him_ by the second, he forced just as much air out of his lungs to persuade her. "You _seriously_ want _me_ to get killed trying to fend off all these—"

"Fine," Setsu snapped to the babe magnet on the bike, and then turned to an infinitely confused Nami. "Call you tonight, _ne_?"

The dark-haired girl could only blink in response.

And in one blink of her eye, a black school shoe stepped onto their school windowsill. Right above a bare knee, the hem of black cycling shorts peeped out from beneath a school skirt.

And in another blink, the knee, the shorts, and the skirt were gone.

* * *

_I know that his rabid fangirls will hate me—even more than they already do—for this…_ Setsu blankly stared at the slender collarbone revealing from beneath Kaname's shirt and windbreaker. _But I'm starting to get used to it._

_Being in his arms._

She did not even have to be told. The moment he set her legs down on the ground, she swung one over the passenger seat of his brand new motorcycle. With neither reluctance nor resistance crossing her mind, she sat behind him and let herself be taken away—away from those girls who had (most unfortunately) witnessed them together in broad daylight… away from their school… away from all of reality… away.

A sudden chuckle intruded into her thoughts.

"Now wasn't that fun?"

She threw a hard, stony glare at the only cheek she could see from behind him. "'_Fun_'? More like 'death-defying' to me."

"Bet you've never done anything like that in your life."

The once colorless cheek before her eyes suddenly reddened. Her glare softened in spite of herself. "I won't deny it. You'll win _that_ bet."

"Here."

Setsu found a gloved hand passing her the very helmet that had masked Kaname earlier.

"Wear it."

One hand clutching a steel bar an inch below her seat, with her other hand she took the helmet from him. "If you had ordered any other girl from our class to come with you and put this on, she would complain of the possibility of 'helmet hair' by now."

A smirking Kaname harrumphed. "Not you. You don't give a damn about that."

"I don't give any swear word about anything," chuckled Setsu, slipping the protective gear over her head. "_Ne_, this is sweaty."

"Oh, yeah? Well, your shoes stink!"

An infuriated eyebrow twitched on its own. "Who told you to sneak around my shoe locker and smell them anyway?"

"Getting a mysterious note. Didn't it excite you at all?"

"Excite me?" repeated Setsu, a mild confusion registering in her face. _But you receive love letters nearly every day. Do_ those _excite you, then?_ "It wasn't _that_ mysterious. I knew exactly who had written it. And how was I supposed to look forward to seeing someone who wanted me to 'keep my shorts on'—"

"Would you have jumped if you _weren't_ wearing—"

"_Iie_," spat a wry-faced Setsu from behind him. He knew her. And worse, he made the most of what he knew of her. "What were you thinking, anyway? Why did you—"

"I just taught you something."

_Hn?_ "And exactly what should I have learned by now?"

"'How to Have Fun'." Kaname sounded as though he had just cited the title of a book he himself had written. "By the awesome Hagiri Kaname."

Despite her conscious efforts to stifle it, that amused chuckle still managed to escape Setsu's lips. "Really? Last I checked, that guy was neither 'awesome' nor an author—"

"Lesson one: Throw everything away." He turned the corner without giving her any warning whatsoever. Both of them tilted to the side along with the motorbike, Setsu holding on to the decorative metal bar beneath her seat, stiffly refusing to touch any part of him in any way.

_So you made me "throw" even caution to the wind,_ ne_?_

But for a student driver, Hagiri Kaname steered his new motor vehicle steadily. She found their ride surprisingly smooth. _His sense of balance…_ His caution gave her comfort. _He's a natural at this._ "Easier said than done," she pointed out. "How am I supposed to just do away with the fact that your loyal legion of fangirls had just seen me plummet from our school building right into—"

"Forget them," shrugged Kaname casually, as if he himself did it all the time.

"And exactly how should I do so?"

"Trust me. You'll forget them by the time I'm done with you."

Setsu froze in place. _Did he just…_

_Oh, this pervert!_

* * *

"Fine." Cold, clear droplets sprayed all over her face, Setsu handed the water pistol back to the game stall attendant. "You're right. This _was_ fun."

"Didn't I tell you?" Hagiri Kaname was the very picture of happiness. Every fiber in his being silently told Setsu that he was proud of himself. He set the toy gun that he had used for their water-shooting game down upon the counter.

Blue eyes shied away. _What am I doing? I must not do this. I can't get too close to him._

Their distant, faraway gaze settled on a little girl silently standing before another tented game booth. The child fished inside the pockets of her white dress, pulled empty hands out of them, and tilted longing, lonely eyes up at the array of stuffed toy animals on display atop the highest shelf of the stand.

_That girl_, the observing Setsu murmured to herself. _She still hasn't given up on that bear…_

Suddenly, Kaname felt a slightly calloused hand clutch his jacket sleeve.

"Hagiri-_kun_."

Her eyes did not even meet his.

"Now I know what game I would like you to teach me next." Determined blue eyes stared straight at the stall wherein a grown man was tossing small bronze coins onto dinner plates. "That one looks interesting, _ne_?"

* * *

A gleam of concentration in his eye, Kaname picked up a coin from the tray the game attendant placed before him. "This is just like the other shooting games we just played, Tsuki," he stood behind her and pressed the penny onto her right palm. "But this time, the bull's eye's not facing you."

And true enough, the "bull's eye" of Setsu's current target faced up. The objective of this particular game was to land a coin right on the smack middle of any one of the plates set upon the table a few meters away from them. The dishes varied in size and distance from the game counter—the smaller and the farther away they were from the player, the greater and better the corresponding prize for tossing the coin onto them.

It all seemed unchallenging, were it not for the sheet of glass covering each plate. Because of the pane surfacing every platter, she had to ensure that the coin she tossed would neither rebound nor slide off the glass.

Now Setsu paid no heed to just how close Kaname's face was to her own. She ignored the warm breath tickling her ear altogether, her attention fully on the game. "_Ne_," she called out to the stall attendant. "Which plate must I aim for to win _that_?"

She pointed to the third toy in the prize display: a big, brown teddy bear with a strip of red lace tied around its neck and forming a ribbon. Just as Kaname blinked in curiosity at her choice among the selection, the young girl in the ivory dress gasped, a most displeased horror—or a most horrorstruck displeasure—crossing her once sorrowful face.

"That one." The game guide motioned to an especially small saucer at the far back of the table.

_Just as I suspected_. With her only question answered, she flicked her right thumb. The coin once tipped between her pointer and thumb took to the air… and landed on the crown of Kaname's head.

Both Kaname and their young female spectator sweat-dropped. Setsu clobbered herself on the head.

"What do you think you're doing?" coughed a flustered Kaname. "You want _me_ to do it—"

"_Iie_." A still-assertive Setsu shook her head. "Teach me, _onegai_. Don't do it for me, or else I will never learn on my own." She picked up her second coin from the tray with her left hand. "I'll try with my left this time. I notice that I shoot better with it, anyway."

"Tsuki," Kaname slid his left arm along hers and took her hand in his. "Don't use your thumb. You'll just flip the coin up. Throw it with your whole wrist instead."

This time, she finally felt his body against hers. Blood flooded to her cheeks as she jerked away from him. "But I might toss it too far—"

"Not too strong, then." Lavender eyes smoldered seriousness. "When people shoot, a lot of them miss 'cause they _over_estimate how far their target is."

_Depth perception, I know._ Silently, secretly awed blue eyes gazed into those deep, dangerous purple. _Hn._ Someone _could become a professional sniper someday._

"Go."

She took a deep breath and flicked her left wrist. Her coin knocked onto the glass surface of the very plate she had targeted, but bounced off it at the very last second.

"Almost," she breathed softly to herself, her shoulders sinking in disappointment. _Darn it._

"Don't worry." Kaname's lips curled up. But he was not smirking smugly this time. He was actually smiling. Sincerely. "In those other games we played, you just needed to shoot straight towards the target. This is harder 'cause the shots here aren't straight, but curved. Just think you're free-throwing a basketball. Ease the ball into the ring."

_Shooting a basketball…_ "Now that, I've done before."

And with that, he had restored her confidence. Together, both their left hands picked up the same coin for her third try.

From right beside them, the small child in the snow-white dress watched the two teenagers without a word. They were the cutest couple she had ever seen.

* * *

"But…"

The little girl could not go on.

Still in the same spot as before, she could not bring herself to walk up to the long-haired teenage girl in school uniform and tell her that she herself had been eyeing that very teddy bear now in the student's arms. "… I…"

Suddenly, the brunette with glassy blue eyes whispered into the ear of the tall, handsome black-haired boy beside her. Never had the child beheld a male face more filled with love.

She smiled at them, their secret romance unfolding in her most vivid of imaginations. So lost was she in her dreamy reverie that she did not see them approaching her at all.

"You want this, _ne_?"

The little girl gasped. Young, innocent eyes widened.

"I noticed that you didn't have any money left to play. That's okay—it happens to me, too." The teenage girl chuckled softly, dimples shyly revealing themselves on the corners of her lips. "Since I know just how it feels to want something I can't afford to have, I thought of winning it for you. So," she left the stuffed toy bear cradled in the child's arms. "Here you go."

The girl in the dress held her breath as she tenderly gazed upon the adorable teddy bear from up close. She snuggled a warm, rosy cheek against the animal's button nose.

Ice blue eyes traded soft glances with smoldering lavender.

Suddenly, a tiny, waiflike hand tugged the ribbon off the bear's neck and held the long crimson lace up towards Setsu and Kaname.

"Th…" The quiet, timid girl struggled to speak. "… Thank… you… for this… Here…"

"Thank you for _this_, too."

Gloved male fingers reached out and gently took the lace from the small outstretched hand. The child found herself watching the couple again, this time with bated breath as two hands in biker's gloves swept through the long ripple of hair before them and knotted the rose-red ribbon around the sandy brown wave.

"She doesn't take care of this hair of hers." The teenage guy pointed out to the little girl in a most familiar tone of voice, as if they had known each other for much, much longer than they actually have. "Don't you think she should wear something like this all the time?"

His girlfriend's face contorted into a sour, awful mess. "Hagiri-_kun_, you are really vainer than I am."

Cuddling closer to her teddy bear, the younger girl lightly giggled to herself. Someday, she hoped to have a boyfriend just like him.

"_Un_."

* * *

Once tense, now relieved eyelids slid open.

_That was faster than I believed it would take. And it didn't hurt at all._

Setsu regained her sense of sight only to discover an intensely immersed Kaname eyeing her earlobe closely. "Uh… Is there something wrong?"

The tall, leggy saleslady in the trim black pencil skirt nodded to Kaname. "You've made a good choice, _okyaku-san_!" She held a facial mirror up to level with Setsu's face. " The _tsuki_-shaped ones do look good on Tsuki-_san_!"

A gasp caught in Setsu's throat. She was finally wearing a pair of those ridiculously feminine bodily eye-catchers Nami had always stubbornly insisted her to try on one day.

Earrings.

_At least he didn't pick those big pendant-like ones,_ she sighed to herself as she studied the two silver, crescent moon-shaped pins now stuck to her earlobes and twinkling in their reflection in the glass. _Or those even bigger chandeliers. I can tell that_ those _are too heavy for comfort just by the way they_ look_!_

"Because this will be Tsuki-_san_'s first pair, I made sure the stem that goes in her ear piercing is especially long." The jeweler pointed a most interested Kaname to the back of Setsu's ear. "It was a good idea for you to bring her here, _okyaku-san_! The holes in her earlobes were about to close up completely any day now!"

_Well, what else would you expect when they were last pierced at birth?_ Setsu harrumphed, the lady's sales pitch failing to convince her in any way. _Don't let her talk you into this, Hagiri_-kun. _That's what they all say just to make a sale._

"Hagiri-_kun_, you don't have to buy—"

Suddenly, through the glass window of the jewelry shop, the corner of her eye caught sight of a masked man mounting and revving Kaname's brand new motorcycle.

"—Your bike…!"

"Huh?" Incredulous curiosity crossed Kaname's face as he retrieved his wallet from his rear jeans pocket. "But '_Kaa-san_ already bought _that_—"

"_Iie_!" The unsold earrings still on her ears, without warning Setsu broke into a mad dash out the shop door, her next words spitting out of her lips in one hurried breath. "Someone-just-got-away-with-your-bike!"

"_NANI?_" Kaname gritted his teeth, following her with hot, burning eyes. He pulled out the yen bill of the highest value among the paper cash in his wallet, flung it behind him towards the woman, and raced out of the store in (literal) pursuit of his sweetheart.

He sprinted past his own padlock and metal chains now lying smashed to pieces on the pavement. That bastard hijacker must have broken them—damn him! His fists clenching to the grinding of his teeth, the royally pissed Kaname burst forward to catch up with Setsu a few meters before him, smoldering lavender eyes trailing the speeding blue Yamaha fading in the distance.

"_Kuso_!" The bike theft victim cursed under his breath. "He's gunning the engine!"

"Now's not the time for _that_, _ne_?" panted Setsu from alongside him. "I believe that you should think a little less about his mishandling your bike and a little more about getting it back!"

Her voice cracked the very moment the auto thief stepped on the accelerator. Just one more rev and the bike would escape their eyes—and them—altogether.

"The ignition key's with me," snarled Kaname between violently gnashing teeth. "How did he—"

"There _is_ such a thing as hotwiring," Setsu consciously used Kaname's own logic against him, her now-ponytailed hair flying behind her as she ran.

"A week old, and it's already been short-circuited!" he groaned to himself.

_He's so mechanically oriented…_ "A week old, and it's already been _stolen_," she pointed out. "Now I see the beauty in having a slow bike—it can't be taken away from me too fast."

"So having a faster bike is a _bad_ thing?"

"Well, look at what's happening now," she gestured to the motor vehicle nearly disappearing before their eyes. "I have an idea. But you won't like it."

Kaname almost stopped chasing after his runaway vehicle. But he could not. No. He refused to. He was _not_ letting that son of a bitch get away with his brand new motorcycle!

"I don't care." He was unconditionally submitting to whatever plan she had in mind. "What is it?"

"I warn you now—you won't like it for two reasons."

"TSUKI!"

_Here goes nothing._ Setsu raised her hands to her left ear and tweaked out the metal screw from behind her earlobe carelessly, clumsily. She was unaccustomed to wearing earrings in the first place, so naturally she also had difficulty taking them off.

"Since _we_ can't catch up with him, we have to get _him_ to stop."

Kaname suddenly felt the pointed back of a crescent moon-shaped earring being pressed onto his palm.

"That's the only sharp object in my person," Setsu murmured reluctantly, remorsefully. "Aim it."

* * *

Those brightly burning lavender flames now lacked their usual luster.

A disgruntled Kaname eyed the kinks and knots of electrical wires chaotically cut and tangled right by the keyhole of his brand new motorcycle. As he walked with his own two feet and pushed his once-hijacked vehicle forward with both hands, he could not help but steal glances at the tiny puncture in the rubber tread of his front tire.

He still could not believe that he had deflated it himself.

At least his bike was back with him.

"You're right." He threw a sidelong glance at the girl by his side. "I didn't like that plan of yours one bit."

"_Mengo_, Hagiri-_kun_." Blue eyes hid beneath sandy brown hair. "You didn't have to do it if you didn't want to. Besides, I also suggested that we just report the incident to the police—"

"If we'd done that, I wouldn't have gotten this back so soon," he patted the leather seat of his motorbike. "Or at all."

A soft, stifled chuckle escaped the still apologetic Setsu's lips. "You really don't believe in the power of _ningen_ authorities, _ne_?"

"Hmph." Lavender eyes narrowed. "They never catch anyone."

_They never detect peculiar phenomena right under their very noses, either. In fact, no one in town sensed his_ reiki _shooting up to levels too high for ordinary_ ningen _to possess._ "They anger you so much, Hagiri-_kun_." _All those years of being bullied must have taken their toll on you._ "Do you harbor a general dislike for all of humanity?"

"Not _all_ of humanity."

His eyes locked with hers as they strolled closer and closer to a most familiar twenty-storey condominium building. Frigid blue eyes dodged flaming lavender.

_If only you knew, Hagiri_-kun, _that I'm…_

"Tsuki."

… _not…_

"When do you want our second date?"

A lump caught in Setsu's throat. _Second…? You mean this is the first…?_ "Hagiri—"

"By then, I want to hear your new name for me."

They stopped by the entrance of the condo tower. A soft chuckle escaped seductive, sweetly smiling lips. A now playful Kaname lightly placed a hand atop Setsu's head, shameless fingers diving right into the rippling brown sea.

"You call Akasaki 'Nami.' Next time we go out together, I want to hear what you'll always call me."

The fingers running along Setsu's hair glided around her ear… along her cheek… against her scarred lip…

"_Iie_."

She pulled herself away from his hand… away from him… away. She turned her back on him and rushed to the tower elevators as fast as her legs could carry her, never once looking back. Upon striking the Up button with her fist, the metal doors of the fastest elevator parted and admitted her inside.

She banged her fist on the Door Close button this time, a slightly calloused hand clapping itself over cold blue eyes. She absolutely refused to catch even just a passing glimpse of that innocent, ignorant human boy she had just left behind.

As soon as the stainless steel shafts closed shut, she uncovered her eyes and pushed for the eighth floor. The Mayonaka Setsuki on the reflective metal wall stared back at her with disapproving, disoriented eyes.

_I must not become too attached to that_ ningen_!_ A slightly calloused hand rolled into an especially tight fist. _Or any_ ningen_, for that matter! I am forbidden to do so! Have I forgotten why I'm here? Have I forgotten…_

A shadow eclipsed the face in her reflection. She closed her eyes, escaping the mirror image wordlessly yet mercilessly scolding her out of her right mind. From force of (bad) habit, trembling teeth sank into her lower lip, chafing a still-healing bite wound.

… _But he has forgotten me._

Once the doors of the lift opened into the eighth floor of her home building, Setsu stepped out and turned right. Across the carpeted strip of corridor, the glass window at the very end of the hallway dripped of the first few driblets of rain.

_Ame…_

* * *

It was the first time he had ever seen her holding an umbrella. And it wasn't even for herself.

Kaname pulled Setsu out of the elevator and into his arms.

"You came back." A rough, gruff whisper tickled her ear as he held her still, his warm cheek pressing against her own. The fingers of his left hand cupping the back of her head and digging into her hair, his right hand palmed the small of her back—neither intending to let go.

She sighed to herself. "Way to state the obvious, Ame-_kun_."

A gasp caught in Kaname's throat.

"Did…" He suddenly found himself unable to form sentences with both his mouth and his mind. "Did you…?"

Even with his fingers tangled in her hair, Setsu still shook her head to herself. _Boy, we're getting disgusting._

"I noticed that as soon as we go our separate ways, it rains. _Ne_?"

Kaname fondly gazed across the ground floor lobby and upon the misty drizzle right outside the tower doors.

"Maybe the sky doesn't like seeing us apart."

"So it cries, then?" Now shaking her head even more, a most unsentimental Setsu dismissed the idea with a mocking chuckle. "You drama queen."

"Your tongue, Tsuki!" cried a disapproving yet delighted Kaname, frowning and smirking at once. "It's asking for trouble again!" But before Setsu could even utter a word in edgewise, he went on. "Then again, I wouldn't have it any other way."

"_Have"...? You can't "have" my tongue, or any other part of me, you per—_

He was already leaning forward for another kiss when she distanced herself from him and aimed the pointed end of her umbrella at his person. "Need I remind you that one: the last time you did that, my lip ended up wounded; and two: I just had spicy tuna for supper?"

"One: I already told you—I didn't bite you! _You_ bit _yourself_! See how much of a troublemaker your mouth is?" snapped an annoyed yet all the more amused Kaname. "And two: I don't care—we ate the same thing!"

"Let _me_ shoulder our next meal bill, then. _Onegai_."

Kaname froze. Did this insulting, infuriating denial queen just randomly confess to him that she was looking forward to their next date?

Knowing the answer to his own question, he laughed to himself. "'Ame-_kun_,' huh?" he taunted to her face. "So every time it rains, you'll think about me?"

"Don't push it."

She suddenly felt a small metal shaft stabbing through her left earlobe. Two hands in biker's gloves refastened her earring with slow, sensitive care.

_But I have to admit, he_ is_ gentler than I will ever be…_

"There."

Setsu's undeclared yet undeniable boyfriend stepped back and admired the silver crescent moons adorning her ears. He had to savor the moment now. He knew that she would never wear them again.

"You will always be my—"

"Kisetsu!"

Kaname froze again.

Somehow, he could tell that kissing her would be humanly impossible now.

**The end (of Hagiri Kaname XD)**

This concludes _Omake_ Chapter 11, then! Thank you so much for putting up with me and my sudden mood for (Setsu-centric, Kurama-free) mini-chapters…! I just needed to get away from our main story for a while. (And now I have. I'm happy. ^-^)

As for our main plot… Here's a teaser for Chapter 12:

"Minamino-_kun_!" gasped a panic-stricken Maya. "Please don't leave! I—!"

Two petite, elfin hands clasped Kurama's cheeks and cupped them with care.

At that moment, Kitajima Maya finally claimed her longtime beloved Minamino Shuuichi's first kiss.

It was everything she had always imagined it to be. Warm. No. Hot. No. Torrid. Yet. Gentle. Soft. So. Soft.

Perfection.

And even after all these years, he still smelled so good. His rose-scented musk was now stronger than ever.

Was this really happening? Was she actually locking lips with the beautiful, unattainable Minamino Shuuichi? Was this all a dream?

If she could awaken from this and still find his lovely face between her hands, then maybe, just maybe, this wasn't a dream after all.

She did it. She opened her eyes.

She shouldn't have.

Her lips parted from his—and from each other—and freed a most bloodcurdling scream.

**Continued  
****  
**(P.S. Yes, there is no glossary at the end of this chapter. I simply assumed none of you need it anymore. You've already had ten long chapters of it. XD)


	12. The Single Friend

**A/N  
**Again, sorry I took long to update this fanfic!  
So much has happened since I posted Chapter 11! Reuniting with a longtime, long lost friend, as well as relatives close and distant… Being introduced to eight new _manga_ and three new anime series… Entertaining an especially young (translation: attention-seeking!) houseguest for a week (and in _my_ room, too—she wouldn't even let me take a minute off to type this!)… Loving, but soon losing, a pet *still sniffling*… Falling in (infuriatingly long!) line for a most competitive, grueling enrolment procedure… And now I am back in class.

From now on, I shall type the succeeding chapters of this fic during my only days off from post-graduate university: Thursdays and Sundays. Since it usually takes me one to two sittings to finish typing a particular chapter, and then another one or two to proofread it, I guess I'll need _at least two weeks_—specifically two Thursdays and two Sundays—to post one chapter. Please understand that my updates, then, will be slow (as if they aren't slow enough already, I know).

To all who answered all my questions… THANK YOU SO MUCH! As for those who didn't… Please don't say I never gave you a chance to share your grievances. ^-^; If you wanted the Japanese out, you should have told me so sooner. (Now I've retained them. For good. Or until the next bonus chapter. ^-^)

* * *

Chapter 12 is fondly dedicated to _you_:

**DiesIrae773**-_san_: Yay for your review, too! (I just wish you had answered my five questions, though. But that's still quite all right.) Mini-Chapter 2 was for you! \^o^/

**Athena'sOracle**-_san_: Ooh. You stole your brother's marbles? XD (I'd probably do the same thing, but I'm an only child. ^-^;) And don't worry—I wouldn't even _think_ of "hating you forever" or anything! But I feel the need to let you know, though, that you must have missed the teaser at the _veeery_ end of Chapter 11… XD

You know, I find my current chapters so long that I myself have to make sure I'm awake and have the attention span for them, too! XD I'll think of a way to make "Maya then Setsu" happen somehow, okay? And if you find the Japanese terms in this fanfic "a little confusing," would you like me to lessen—or altogether stop—my use of them, then? Please, feel free to suggest what you would prefer!

And thank you, thank you, _thank you_ for your offer to beta this fic! I am _so_ sorry to say this, but I now realize that, well, I… may not have the time to have my chapters beta edited after all. T.T Since I have only Thursdays and Sundays off from post-grad university, I now intend to post my new chapters whenever I actually finish editing them. If I start consulting a beta now, I might take even longer to post new chapters—because I'll be so ashamed to submit an inexcusably crappy chapter to my beta, I'll edit it beforehand anyway! XD And I wouldn't want to keep you and all the other readers of this fic waiting even more than all of you already do… So it turns out I may not rely on a beta after all. (I take long enough to update this fic by myself!) My apologies, then. But thank you, all the same! I truly appreciate your willingness to help me! ^-^

P.S. _All_ types of Microsoft Word? XD

**krm3DeeDee**_-chan_: Hello to you, too! ^^ I'm sorry to hear what had happened the first time you typed your review for Chapter 11. That really _was_ a tragedy! O.O (When it happens to me, sheer frustration tempts me to smash my keyboard with my fists! XD)

As for the FAQs… You are most welcome. ^-^ They help me organize my own thoughts as well, actually. XD (Particularly the questions that this fanfic still needs to answer. ^^) I didn't mean to be such a slave driver, though. T.T Please don't-kill-me! XD And as for Kaname and Setsu… I've already figured out a way to break them up _without_ some misfortune (or death) befalling any of them. It _would_ be sad, but it would also be for the best. As for now, this chapter will reveal the reason behind Maya's scream. ^-^

Judging from all the reviews I've received so far, it looks like I'll keep on using Japanese for the remainder of this fanfic. By the way, Setsu's _mengo_, _ne_, and all those other quirky words of hers serve to lend her a casual, almost childish, life attitude… in spite of her exuding an air of maturity of sorts.

I greatly appreciate your review of how Setsu and Nami met. You nailed it on the head, my friend! \^o^/ Actually, I had thought of their "first meeting" even before Nami's first-ever appearance. That probably explains why they were in character in that particular flashback. ^^ And that last part of Kaname and Setsu's date? Yeah, it really _was_ cheesy. (I guess that's what happens when I rush the end of a chapter! XD Don't worry—I won't rush any more endings again. ^-^) We could only wonder what Setsu's father eventually did to Kaname for catching the boy with his daughter—but we know for sure that it wasn't pretty. XD

Kurama was, and again will be, nicknamed… in the very first, then in the very last, chapter of this fanfic. O.O In the meantime, someone else will suddenly, surprisingly be addressed with another name in this chapter. Any guesses before reading? ^^

Speaking as Lauren, Miss Diana, I just want you to know that I experience the same—feeling? sensation? impression? whatever it should be called—as you do. When I read a fanfic that awes me, I remain in speechless awe—so speechless that I refuse to even dare type a review for it. Those are the times when I feel the author is best left alone—that any feedback I give him or her would be pointless and meaningless, and that I do not even have the right to give him or her any feedback at all. Yes, I _do_ feel that way with several web authors out there! But I don't like it when a reader _of mine_ feels that way. Since I myself know how it feels to pale in comparison—to see myself as pitifully inferior!—to another writer, I don't like causing someone else to feel the exact same way. (I sound like Setsu right now, I know. XD) Of course I'm flattered to know I've finally met someone out there who believes in me (or my writing style, at least) even more than I believe in myself, and I'm very happy to have met you. But I would _not_ want to intimidate you, or make you feel any sort of inferiority, at all. I know I can't change the way you feel just by suggesting that you do so, but at least I want you to know that I regard your reviews very highly. In fact, I am impressed with you yourself. As a reviewer of my fanfics, you do not go easy on me at all—and I appreciate that, because you always make me reread my own writing with entirely new eyes. So please, do not hesitate to review me! _I_ look up to _you_! \^o^/

It's so nice to know I now have a new friend from halfway around the world. And we're the same age, too. ^^ Are you a train ride or so away from Leuven, Flanders in Belgium? If all goes well, I'm scheduled to take my Ph.D. there next year, you see. (I'm just saying. Not exactly thinking of stalking you or something. That would be too forward—and creepy!—of me, I know. Just asking for curiosity's sake. ^-^)

P.S. Are you absolutely sure Niou and Yagyuu are _just_ friends? *wink* XD

P.P.S. Actually, you've _always_ had the opportunity to write a long review. Please, feel free to do it again. ^-^

**Kaori Minamino**-_san_: You know, it's very fulfilling for me to learn that my current chapter length is very fulfilling for you. ^-^ When I read your answer to my first question, I realized that I myself prefer long chapters over short ones because each long chapter becomes a story in itself—while still serving as a subplot of the entire fanfic, it has a plot all its own. I enjoy typing story chapters that could be read as stories themselves, chapters that could somehow "stand alone"—at least until the next one. ^^

You've also given me so much valuable insight on the relationships between Kaname, Setsu, Kurama, and Maya! \^o^/ In fact, I completely agree with how you've pieced their puzzle together! Somehow I'm convinced that Kaname deserves to be with Setsu, and that Maya would be _devastated_ to finally have Kurama only to lose him oh, too soon. But! You and I know that Kurama and Setsu are hiding something—a past that _he_ can't seem to remember, but _she_ can't seem to forget. XD (I feel like exclaiming "GAH!" over it, too! XD) But I've come to a decision—and I won't back out now. ^-^ Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me! I feel as though we've just had a meeting of the minds or something. XD

**Dyani91**-_san_: Oops. Sorry about that. My mind itself is _very_ cluttered, you see. (It's chaotic in there. XD) So my writing is a blatant reflection of it. ^-^; But still, thank you for your praise! I hope you keep on reading this fanfic! Here's the next chapter!

And **rain chant**-_san_: "Homework"? XD Sorry to impose it on you, then. ^-^ I agree with what you pointed out about switching to the first person point of view—it really _might_ take the mystery away. Maybe even a lot of it. O.O Your review made me realize that all this time, I've been enjoying the advantages of writing with an all-seeing eye! XD Thank you for always having something nice to say! (You never fail to make me smile. \^o^/) Here—_now_ you can check if you're right about that teaser! (Sorry I took so long to update. T.T)

Then here's a shout-out to the new readers of this little fanfic of mine who just joined us in Chapter 11: **White Rose Fox**, **RIGELE009**, **fluffyfoxears**, and **Death's Apostle**! (Anyone else I forgot to mention? ^^;) I hope to read your reviews soon!

**Happy reading, everyone!**

* * *

"Minamino-_kun_!" gasped a panic-stricken Maya. "Please don't leave! I—!"

Two petite, elfin hands clasped Kurama's cheeks and cupped them with care.

At that moment, Kitajima Maya finally claimed her longtime beloved Minamino Shuuichi's first kiss.

It was everything she had always imagined it to be. Warm. No. Hot. No. Torrid. Yet. Gentle. Soft. So. Soft.

Perfection.

And even after all these years, he still smelled so good. His rose-scented musk was now stronger than ever.

Was this really happening? Was she actually locking lips with the beautiful, unattainable Minamino Shuuichi? Was this all a dream?

If she could awaken from this and still find his lovely face between her hands, then maybe, just maybe, this wasn't a dream after all.

She did it. She opened her eyes.

She shouldn't have.

Her lips parted from his—and from each other—and freed a most bloodcurdling scream.

**12: The Single Friend  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **Butterfly Cove**

It was saltier than usual.

But Kuwabara Kazuma still sucked the moist flour noodles into his mouth like a wildly malfunctioning vacuum cleaner.

Yukina silently clapped her hands over her lap, gazing into the glazed soup set before her. She had listened to Kuwabara's recommendation and ordered _gomoku_ ramen just as he did. But even after watching him gorge into the seafood, chicken, and vegetable noodle soup like there was no tomorrow, she still did not know how to eat the strange new food. She eyed her companions to follow any of them by example, but no one else spare Kazuma-_san_ was eating—or whatever one would call just exactly what he was doing. Should she follow his lead and down it like a drunkard, then?

"So tell us, Urameshi!" mumbled the big eater in between avalanches of soup, shrimp, and chicken sliding from his ramen bowl down his gullet. "What's Kurama's mystery girl like?"

A steaming bowl of her favorite _char-sieu men_ giving her a free facial, Yukimura Keiko looked up from her food. The older Kuwabara sibling chose her cigarette over anything on Urameshi Yusuke's menu. Both had the same question in mind.

"_Girl_?" repeated Yusuke, cackling shamelessly at the sheer inappropriateness of Kuwabara's word of choice. "PUH-LEEZE! That bitch's more 'mystery' than 'girl'!"

"Yusuke!" cried a suddenly red-faced Keiko, nearly snapping her wooden chopsticks in half. "That's not very nice!"

"'Bitch'?" Shizuru quoted Yusuke and puffed out her smoke in the same breath. "Doesn't sound like Kurama-_kun_'s 'type' at all. If he even _has_ one, that is."

"But that's what she _is_! She threw _my own bowl_ at _my face_, for cryin' out loud!"

Keiko remained unfazed. "You probably deserved it."

Sure, she loved this hothead. She even agreed to marry him. But she also knew that his hotheadedness _could_ get out of line.

"Oh, yeah? Get this! She'll pry yer whole life outta ya, then zip it when it's _her_ turn t' yak!" An exasperated Yusuke threw his hands up in the air for emphasis. "Even worse, she _knows_ I'll let 'er get away wit' murder jus' 'cause she's a payin' customer! That blackmailin' bitch!"

"I still don't get it," Kuwabara drank the last of his ramen with a confused scowl. "What's so un-girly about 'er?"

"Well, her hair's _this_ short," Yusuke straightened his fingers and leveled them with the nape of his neck. "She eats like a guy, dresses like a guy when it ain't a school day, an' she's got those _real_ narrow eyes—" he shrank his own big brown orbs by squinting them and even pulling at their corners with his pointer fingers. "—y' know, the ones on 'em bad guys in movies!"

The same scowl still crumpling his face, Kuwabara pinched his chin and stroked an imaginary beard in thought. "But you still saw a _girl_, didn'tcha?"

"With tits as flat as a field, but yeah."

The perverted ramen peddler suddenly found himself slapped to the asphalt, a heavy, red hand imprint painfully throbbing on his cheek.

"THAT'll teach you not to look at women's chests!" Keiko harrumphed and folded her arms across her own. "Why, of all the nerve!"

A sweat-dropped Yukina gaped at the unfortunate fiancé sprawled in a heap on the ground.

With an airy sigh, Shizuru elegantly ran her fingers through her hair and shot Keiko a teasing look. "Relax, Keiko-_chan_. At least you know he likes _yours_ over hers."

As the offended fiancée flustered and stammered back to her non-violent self, an inattentive Kuwabara stroked his chin even more. "But when _I_ was wit' Kurama, I thought I saw a real _guy_!"

"Not you, too." Shizuru groaned and clapped a hand over her own forehead, exasperated over her baby brother. "Don't _you_ start going on about how flat she was, or poor sweet Yukina-_chan_ here might get jealous!"

"_Eeh_?" A quietly confused Yukina blinked. While the younger Kuwabara overreacted in profuse denial, she paid more attention to a single sheet of paper hanging atop Yusuke's ramen stand counter, fastened to a line with two clothespins. The _koorime_ pointed to the ramen drawing. "_Anou_…" she began softly. "Who did that?"

Not quite fully recovered from Keiko's Bitch-Slap of Death, a now-standing Yusuke brushed dust and dirt off himself. "_That_'s what started it all! She wouldn't show me _that_! But she gave it t' me anyway! How dumb is _that_?"

Keiko examined the illustration from her seat. "_Shoyu_ ramen. It almost looks real!" She eyed her fiancé in disagreement. "She doesn't seem so bad to me, Yusuke. I think I want to meet her for myself sometime."

"I want to meet _any_ girl Kurama-_kun_ could actually stand for more than five seconds." Shizuru blew out yet another ribbon of grayish white smoke.

"_O_!" Kuwabara agreed with his sister—for once. "I've _never_ seen Kurama wit' any girl before—who ain't any of you guys! Or Botan! Or Genkai-_shihan_!"

"Kurama-_san_…" murmured Yukina to herself, secretly imagining Kurama in the arms of a girl she didn't yet know.

* * *

The _one_ time that she _finally_ has him in her arms, and _this_ had to happen!

She could not push him away. She would never do that. But she _had_ to let go of him—

—whoever he was.

"Who…" A deathly frightened Maya drew her hands away from Kurama and stepped away from him. "Who _are_ you?" She backed into a wall and shielded herself with her arm. "Tell me!"

Kurama gazed deep into those big brown eyes, now wider than ever and clouded with confusion. Beneath that thick film of fear was the reflection of a face once his own. Silver and gold… The hues of earthly metals…

But not of mortals.

Of course she would be afraid. No ordinary _ningen_ possessed silver hair and golden eyes. Kitajima _did_ have a right to demand his identity from him. She didn't know _him_ at all.

"Kitajima—" Kurama heard himself uttering from outside himself. _My voice…! It's still Minamino's! It's happened again!_ "—what's wrong?"

A haze of questions fogging his mind, Kurama gazed upon his own fingernails. As he had expected, they had all grown and sharpened into canine claws.

Jitsu wa_… I know exactly what's wrong._

* * *

_He was there…_

Mayonaka Setsuki tilted her head and eyes up at the campus bulletin board, this time of Mushiyori National College.

… _when I checked if Nami_-chan_, Ame_-kun_, and I had made it to Meiou High._

She found her examinee ID number amidst the list of numerals in the panel. A gasp threatened to escape her lips. "Ame-_kun_," she summoned the biker in the cobalt Yamaha cruiser parked a few meters away. "Mushiyori accepted me again."

Hagiri Kaname flicked his eyeshade up, exposing lavender eyes smoldering with a secret.

_Is it just me, or is he really not as thrilled about this as I thought he would be…?_ "Since we can't attend Meiou _Daigaku_ together, we can always enroll here in Mushiyori. We'll be classmates again. Just like old times."

The head in the helmet shook sideways. "I'm not going."

Setsu raised a quizzical eyebrow. "To Mushiyori National? But all its high school graduates are automatically eligible to enter its college—"

"I'm not going," repeated Kaname. "To college."

She bit back a gasp. And her lower lip. _But… what about…?_

"_Meiou. I didn't like it, and it didn't like me," shrugged a Kaname newly graduated from junior high. "It was stupid of me to even think I could pass their exam."_

_Setsu playfully tugged on the golden tassel of his graduation cap. "Don't let that exam result get you down. Everything happens for a reason. Perhaps it_ would _be best for us to stay in Mushiyori for high school—"_

"_No._ You _made it to that prestigious school for prodigies. Don't let me stop you."_

_She hung her head low, her gaze lost in the black of her rented toga. She did not like what she was hearing at all. _

"_Remember how happy your_ 'Tou-san _was when you told him you made it there?" His fingers dug into her hair. "Go there. Make him proud. I'll be where we've always been. You know where to find me. We'll be together again, anyway."_

"Hagiri Kaname," snapped the reminiscing Setsu. "You promised that 'we'll be together again'—"

"We will be. If you come with me."

_Back then, you were thinking of my own welfare. But now, is this for you?_ "And where exactly do you intend to take us?"

The humid summer air howled between them.

"Wherever we want." He tossed her helmet into her hands. "We don't _have_ to go to college, Tsuki. We can go everywhere else. Didn't you always wanna tour the whole world? We could do that."

_Ame_-kun_, are you asking me to…_

His response caught her off-guard and at a loss for words. The headgear missed her hands, dropped onto the pavement, and rolled away.

… _run away with you?_

* * *

"Minamino-_kun_! You—!"

Shimmering silver suddenly burned and bled. Golden eyes blinked into green.

What was it? Whatever it was, it was fast—it came and went in the bat of an eyelash! Was her mind playing tricks on her? Or was it just a trick of the light? Or…!

Kurama watched his claws retract into human nails before his very eyes. _No. She doesn't need to know._ "Yes?"

"You—you—_turned into someone else_—!"

His poker face working overtime, Kurama cautiously played the role he had more than once essayed before: her voice of reason. "Impossible. You must have just been seeing things."

"But I _saw_ you, Minamino-_kun_! I've never seen anything like it before!"

"Are you all right, Kitajima?" He gently clapped a hand upon her forehead to feign checking for her temperature. Soon enough, her entire face heated up from his touch. "Perhaps you need to rest."

"You don't have to make fun of me!" A frown crossing her now-flushed face, Maya pointed at him, accusing him of actually knowing—and depriving her of—the truth. "I've always _known_ there was something special about you, Minamino-_kun_! I always _knew_ you were different from everyone else! I just… never imagined…"

_Too bad._ Kurama heaved a secret sigh. _Among all the_ ningen _from my past, I would have expected_ you _to understand…_

"… _how_ different…"

* * *

"But why, Tsuki?"

The seat of his jeans trampling upon the grass by the riverside, Kaname tightened his grip on the stone in his fist one last time, and then chucked it into the stream. Sitting beside him, Setsu wrapped her arms around her legs and hugged her knees to her chest, quietly gazing upon the water rippling before their eyes. _Like a visible echo._

"Why do you wanna stay with _them_?" insisted a most frustrated Kaname. "Annoying classmates who'll never understand you, teachers who underestimate you—"

"I just…" She spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully. "… look forward to college, Ame-_kun_."

"But I didn't pass Meiou—"

"Any college." Icy blue orbs locked with burning lavender. "With you."

She looked away in time to miss his gasp.

Kaname had noticed it earlier, but now it was undeniable. Setsu was different today. On a normal day, she would have never been caught dead with any other man but him himself. But not today.

What could she have been doing with that red-haired guy—that ally of Urameshi Yusuke's, the _Reikai Tantei_ chosen after Sensui-_san_? Didn't she know that he and that weakling redhead were at odds once, that they would have dueled to the death had Sensui-_san_ not given him specific instructions to chase after and eliminate Urameshi before anyone else?

What did that demon in pathetic human disguise do to Tsuki? Just one night in his family's house and she had already become more…

… expressive.

He liked that.

"Remember that _youkai_ who had stabbed you near the heart, yet let you live?"

Kaname bit back another startled gasp. He didn't think it was possible, but it was really happening—Tsuki was even more random than usual. She was just full of surprises today.

"I've met him."

His disgraceful defeat ran across his mind. That puny demon in black flickering before his eyes… That cold, bloodstained sword thrusting into his ribcage… His own untimely collapse into a wide-eyed coma… Later regaining consciousness to the sight of Doctor Kamiya closing his near-fatal chest wound with those supernatural surgical hands of his… A newly returned Tsuki finally forgiving him and placing that calloused hand of hers over his scar… That hand of hers beaming brightly… The scar as well as the torn slit in his white shirt vanishing to nothing…

"You need not seek revenge from him anymore. I believe that I've already done so."

She uncurled her fingers and held her palm up facing the midday sky. Suddenly, a black glove sheathing several gleaming needles materialized atop her outstretched hand—floating, glowing.

Kaname knew what to do. Without a word, he stared at the glove then closed his eyes, watching Setsu's late-night encounter with the human dart-thrower in his own memories. When he pictured that bleeding redhead back in his younger stepbrother's bedroom and that demon clad in black safe in the arms of his hideous demon lover, the Sniper knew the episode was over.

He opened his eyes. "So he didn't even know what hit him, huh?"

Setsu shook her head. "I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have allowed it to happen. It wasn't his time—"

"Tsuki, he was already dead when you met him."

She hid her eyes beneath her hair and got on her knees, scooping up the soil before her with her bare hands. "I _still_ shouldn't have let anything happen to any of them. _Demo_…" She dug deeper and deeper into the ground until she buried the glove into the loam. "… I _wanted_ him to show up—that _youkai_ who had stabbed you."

Kaname regarded Setsu silently. She was perfectly aware of the existence of _youkai_ even before he himself was. She possessed mystical abilities that only the two of them—no, not Nami; not even her father—knew about, but even he did not dare imagine the very world of possibilities they opened up for her. He had never bothered to find that out for himself. He simply trusted that she managed them wisely—even more so than he did his own.

But this time, she was unable to hold herself back. For once, she did as she wanted with her powers.

She had misused them. No. Abused them. For revenge. No. For him.

He could see pain eclipsing her face.

She regretted it.

He hated that.

"How many?" Silky raven hair veiling his face, Kaname placed a heavy hand atop Setsu's bowed head. "How many fake visions did you show him?"

"Of his fellow _youkai_ and friend dead?" She clenched the clay soil in her fists, biting her lip in between sentences. "Through his _jagan_ alone, eighty-three per second for about a minute—"

"You're right." The hand on her scalp slid down to her cheek. "You didn't have to go that far."

"It wasn't easy, Ame-_kun_—calling for and convincing that _youkai_ to come." She spilled topsoil upon the glove, bowing her head even lower to pay her last respects to the deceased _ningen_ man it represented. "I had to bombard him. Open his eyes to the potential truth in the untrue. It isn't in his nature to—"

Once again, she found herself silenced with a kiss.

* * *

"_Minamino_-kun_, I just want you to know that…" stammered a flustered Maya as Kurama spread her blanket over her body from the neck down, tucking her into her own soft, warm bed. Earth brown eyes locked onto grass green. "… that whoever or whatever you are, I…"_

_His gaze fell._ This must be as hard for you as it is for me. Perhaps even harder.

"… _I think deep down, you're still the same as you've always been! The quiet, smart Minamino_-kun_!"_

Iiya, _he disagreed with her in silence._ Your eyes… They now see me with fear.

"_When our classmates had questions about ghosts, vampires, aliens, and other stuff,_ I_ was the one they all turned to for answers." A feverish Maya smiled weakly at Kurama, her hand shakily reaching out towards him. "But now, I myself have a million questions even_ I _can't answer!"_

_Kurama eyed the petite porcelain hand slowly inching towards him. After a moment's hesitation, he took the trembling hand and clasped it between both his own. "Kitajima…"_

"_Could you answer them for me? I'll try my best to understand!"_

_His face seemingly carved from stone, a declining Kurama closed his eyes._

"_You must be tired, Kitajima. Rest well."_

"_Don't you trust me, Minamino_-kun_?" demanded the girl in bed, an intimate pain eclipsing her face. "I won't disappoint you! I can learn to accept you—I can learn to accept who you really are! I can learn to lo…"_

_His eyes remained closed._ I'm sorry. But you can't. You are now too afraid of me.

_Suddenly she threw her sheets aside, heaved herself off her bed, and sat upright. "I_ know _you won't kill me, Minamino_-kun_! I trust you!" She gave his hands a firm squeeze. "I just hope_ you _would trust_ me _enough to explain—"_

"_There is nothing to explain."_

His left hand cupping his right elbow and the fingers of his right cupping his chin, Kurama walked along the riverside absently, lost in thought. He had left the Hagiri-Kitajima apartment once Maya had fallen fast asleep, a runaway tear escaping her eye.

_Kitajima…_ Vivid images of his former classmate and best female friend filled his mind. _All these years… Didn't the Pollen…?_

Green orbs wandered aimlessly, following the water's edge. Suddenly a most familiar mop of disheveled brown hair caught his eye.

A long red lace served as her headband again, just like when they first met.

Her hands were buried in soft earth. _His_ hands were as well, but in soft hair. Nothing came between their lips.

_Mayonaka_-san…

Kurama looked away.

* * *

_Not again_. Blue eyes remained open in spite of the circumstance they suddenly found themselves in. _I know that this is your way of thanking me, but can't you spare me some advance warning?_

They beheld the perfectly sculpted ivory nose bridge before them. Setsu stifled a chuckle threatening to part her now-paralyzed lips. _Hagiri Kaname. Such a believer of the human concept of the kiss. _

_Speaking of which…_ A blue gaze fell. _I wonder how Minamino_-sempai _and Kitajima_-san _are doing._

* * *

_Leave them alone._ Kurama reminded himself wordlessly. _She knows how to get home._

He was already turning his heels to leave when a heavy, powerful arm suddenly wound around his neck from behind.

"YO, KURAMA!"

_That voice!_ He whirled to face a widely beaming Kuwabara Kazuma. "Kuwabara-_kun_!"

"Hey, how's my favorite redhead?"

Kurama whirled again, this time to find Shizuru raising a hand—her trusty nicotine stick between her pointer and middle fingers—to give him a curt greeting wave. He then lowered his gaze to establish eye contact with the silently yet sweetly smiling _koorime_ to her left. "_Minna_!"

"Kurama-_san_," responded the gentle, soft-spoken Yukina, clasping her hands together before her lap and bowing to him.

Kuwabara tightened his hold of his good friend and pointed his thumb at the couple privately romancing by the grassy riverbank. "_Oi_, who're those lovebirds canoodlin' over there? And why were ya _watchin'_ them?"

_Sou ka!_ A realization dawned upon Kurama. _Kuwabara_-kun _never saw the Sniper when he was shooting marbles at Yusuke's apartment! And Sensui had already abducted him when the Sniper confronted me, then Yusuke and Hiei, in person!_ Dakara, _he doesn't know he used to be one of Sensui's men!_

A bead of sweat trickled down his brow. _And he doesn't need to know. Not anymore._ "That is Hagiri Kaname," Kurama pointed out, intentionally not introducing the teenage boy as the Sniper. _Kuwabara_-kun _wouldn't cause trouble with anyone he doesn't see as an adversary. This is all for the best._ "And that is my stepbrother's cousin, Mayonaka Setsu—"

No later than their names dropped from Kurama's lips did the assuming, bungling Kuwabara aggressively step into the grass and throw himself at the two, pointing at them accusingly and yelling at the top of his lungs.

"_OI_, SETSU-_KUN_! GET YOUR DIRTY HANDS OFF SWEET LI'L KANAME-_CHAN_! SHE'S TOO YOUNG FOR YOUR PLAYBOY MOVES! IF YOUR KURAMA-_SEMPAI_ WON'T STOP YA, _I_ WILL!"

_Kuwabara_-kun_!_ Kurama sweat-dropped. _He mistook "Kaname" and "Setsu" for each other!_

* * *

"_Setsu_-kun_"? "Kaname_-chan_"? Kura…?_ Now free of Kaname's kiss, Setsu's face contorted into a sour, awful mess. _So much of that was just plain_ wrong.

Kaname's mood swung from amorous to apprehensive in a matter of milliseconds. He rose to his feet, shot a royally pissed glare at the nosy newcomer, and snapped, "Who are you?"

Setsu patted the burial ground one last time before standing up and catching sight of Kurama and a mature, responsible-looking long-haired brunette rushing by the carrot-haired intruder's side. She clapped a restraining yet reassuring hand on Kaname's shoulder. "It's no big deal, Ame-_kun_. I know one of them."

"'Ame-_kun_'?" repeated a huffing, puffing Kuwabara gripping his knees, catching his breath, and trying—but miserably failing—to figure out just how a dude named Setsu could possibly have the nickname Ame.

"Kuwabara-_kun_!" Kurama strode up to his taller friend, eyeing him with a flurry of exasperation, shameful amusement, and disbelieving disapproval. "You've mistaken them for each other!"

A huge spider vein on her temple pulsing in humiliated rage, Shizuru's clenched fist kissed the crown of Kazuma's head. "HOW COULD I BE RELATED TO SOMEONE SO STUPID?"

Setsu massaged her own temples. _They may look nothing alike, but they really_ are _related. They raise their voices in the exact same way… They're probably just as violent as each other, too._

As a lump comically swelled atop the younger Kuwabara's skull, the older sibling regained her composure, combed her fingers through her long locks with an air of cool poise, and took a puff of her cigarette. She turned to the pair with an exasperated smile. "Excuse us," Shizuru apologized in time to blow out a ribbon of whitish gray smoke. "My idiot of a baby brother here just enjoys getting himself into trouble, as you can see for yourselves."

Kaname harrumphed just as coolly and closed his eyes, ignoring the busybodies altogether. "Hmph." He cracked one eye open just enough to shooting a taunting look at his girlfriend. "Not unlike _some_ people I know."

An enraged eyelid twitched on its own. Setsu's face could not contort any more than it already had. "Some nerve you've got, insulting me like that. In front of company, too."

"You two make a lovely couple," Shizuru eyed the teenage sweethearts intently, silently sensing their _reiki_. Suddenly a gasp caught in her throat. The woman in business casual leaned towards Kurama's ear, raising her hand to hide her lips from the two. "Kurama-_kun_, isn't he…?"

Her memories of the Sniper were less than pleasant. There she was, smoking in the bedroom of Yusuke's apartment. Another of Sensui's men—Mitarai Kiyoshi, otherwise known as the Seaman—brooded in Yusuke's bed, torn between Sensui's brainwashing and her baby brother Kazu's trust in the confused boy's sense of right and wrong. Botan was in the room with them, comforting Mitarai more than keeping him in check. Shizuru sensed them coming—Sniper's marbles. They cracked hole after hole in Yusuke's glass window, gunning down the entire room like stunted yet nonetheless lethal bullets, targeting Mitarai in particular but involving everyone else in the barrage of attacks. She caught sight of the Sniper firing at them from the roof deck of the building across the street with deadly accuracy.

Kurama followed Shizuru's suspicious eyes with his own. He had expected her to recognize him. "_Aa_."

Setsu stared at the two tall, long-haired adults warily eyeing her boyfriend. They stood side by side, their rippling hair catching the cool midday wind; Shizuru's profile strong, Kurama's graceful. _Iie._ You two _make an even lovelier couple._

Kaname was on to them. He took Setsu by the scalp, pulled her closer to him, and whispered in her ear softly, scratchily. "I don't like this. Let's go."

"YUKINA-_SAN_! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

Kurama, Shizuru, Kaname, and Setsu whirled to find a beautiful turquoise-haired girl following a small brown bird with a streak of white across its chest flying much lower than usual. The swallow flapped its one unbroken wing repeatedly, only to drain itself of energy and strength and eventually plummet to the ground. Yukina gasped and quickened her steps towards the unfortunate bird, catching it in time.

"YUUUKINA-_SAAAN_!" Kuwabara shrieked even more loudly than before—much to the dismay of Kaname's already irritated ears—and sped to his darling.

Gently cupping the injured white-bellied swallow in her hands, Yukina looked up at her Kazuma-_san_ morosely, sympathetic agony filling her crimson eyes. "Kazuma-_san_, this bird," she murmured airily. "It's in so much pain."

Kurama and Shizuru caught up to them. She smoked her cigarette yet again as he examined the fallen creature closely. "Its wing is broken."

After nodding to an uninterested Kaname heading for his motorcycle, Setsu strode up to them as well. "It may need a splint," she suggested to the ethereal, otherworldly stranger. She picked up a stray twig with the same length as the little bird's wing and handed it to Yukina. "Here you go."

"A… 'splint'…?" repeated Yukina with uncertainty. Never in her life had she encountered the word before.

* * *

_It is but natural for her not to know what a splint is,_ Kurama told Setsu only in his mind. _She possesses the ability to heal._

"When one splints a broken body part—whether that of a human or another animal—one paralyzes the body part by wrapping a splint around it," Setsu went on to an attentively listening Yukina. "The purpose of doing so is to ensure that the bird can't move its broken wing much while it hasn't fully recovered yet."

_That is unnecessary, Mayonaka_-san_. Yukina_-san _could tend to it on her own._ Green eyes narrowed. _Though I wouldn't advise Yukina_-san _to use her powers right before your eyes…_

Either both Yukina and Kuwabara were just as reluctant as Kurama to demonstrate her healing ability in the presence of the teenage female stranger in their midst, or they had momentarily forgotten all about it.

"But I don't have anything to wrap this with," murmured the _koorime_ sadly.

"Here, you can use my 'Headband of Love,' Yukina-_san_!" An equally distressed Kuwabara attempted to yank a white sweatband—with his and Yukina's names written on it and a pink heart in between them—off his head, only to pull his own hair. He desperately groped around his forehead until he finally realized that he wasn't wearing it. "AAAAAHHH!" he cried aloud in alarm. "How can I not have my 'Headband of Love' wit' me jus' when Yukina-_san_ needs it?"

Suddenly, a calloused hand carelessly tugged a long red lace away from disheveled brown hair. "Use this, _onegai_," Setsu left the unraveled ribbon in Kuwabara's hand. "Ame-_kun_ won't mind. He gives me one every time he sees me, anyway."

Shizuru exhaled a puff of smoke and regarded Setsu closely. So _this_ was the "bitch" Yusuke-_kun_ was talking about? Could be. After all, the girl looked just as he said she did. If she had not been next to the Sniper at the time, at first glance Shizuru would have mistaken her for—

The older Kuwabara bit back a gasp.

From afar, Kaname kick-started his Yamaha and revved its engine once, twice. Setsu apparently took it as a signal to leave. "_Hn_. My self-appointed 'driver' of sorts is getting impatient, _ne_?" Without waiting for a response from any of the four, she bobbed her head slightly before them, caramel wisps tumbling across her face. "_Yoroshiku_, _minna_. Have to go, Minamino-_sempai_."

She turned her back on the four and approached the helmeted rider on the motorbike, calling out to Kurama over her shoulder. "Oh, and _sempai_. Go to that grove of trees by the back entrance of the memorial garden later at five thirty, _onegai_. I'll introduce you to someone."

Kurama found himself curious beyond words. "Uh—_Un_."

_Mayonaka_-san, _just who will you…_

He and his three friends watched the couple ride away.

… _introduce me to…?_

* * *

"_Kurama_-kun_," Shizuru's eyes narrowed. She appeared more serious than usual. "That 'friend' of yours…"_

_Green eyes gazed far into the distance._

"… _Her_ reiki _is stronger than his."_

Curtain upon curtain of weeping willow branches caressed soft, grassy ground. Kurama swept the long, billowing boughs aside and stepped into the grove.

A marriage of colors greeted his eyes. More weeping willows weaved around and into wisteria trees, yawning into a narrow yet passable secret trail rarely treaded upon by human feet. Velvety pink peonies dotted the grassland, standing out against the tranquil gloom of purple wisteria. Each bud, petal, and blade of grass boasted of dewdrops from the morning mist that had come to stay for the rest of the day even in the dead heat of the summer sun.

Ningenkai_ flowers,_ Kurama found himself holding his breath, admiring the majestic beauty before his eyes. _Much gentler than those of_ Makai.

Sports sneakers lightly padded along the grassless path beneath sweeping, canopy-like trees, and stopped only when their wearer overheard a familiarly low, mellow voice.

"The sky hasn't watered you yet, _ne_?"

He found her crouching before a raceme stem of two white, bell-shaped blossoms, both flowers nodding to the wind, but facing away from each other. _Lilies. Lilies of the valley._

"Look at you, _yuri-tachi_," Setsu said to the heavily drooping lilies. "You now weigh so much more than the last time I was here. Don't worry—I don't think any less of either of you." She laughed to herself shyly, sadly. "Just kidding."

"Do you really talk to plants often, Mayonaka-_san_?"

Setsu froze. She didn't even sense him already standing right behind her.

Neither turning her head to face him nor meeting his eyes, a still squatting Setsu fondly gazed upon her floral friends. "_Un_. I believe that speaking with them regularly helps them grow."

Green eyes studied the back of Setsu's bowed head. _Still the same, this_ ningen. _So different from everyone else._ "What you said has sound scientific basis," the biologist pointed out. "When you talk to plants, you release carbon dioxide, which they use for photosynthesis. They, in turn, give off the oxygen you need in order to breathe—"

"I know, Minamino-_sempai_. I've taken basic botany in high school," scoffed a sarcastic Setsu. "Besides, you could have looked at it from another perspective. Communication helps flora grow in the exact same way that it helps fauna—I mean, us _ningen_ and other animals."

"_Us_ ningen_"?_ Kurama repeated inwardly. _The two of us? Even_ I'm _not too sure about that._

"Think about it, _onegai_. Even deaf and mute _ningen_ communicate with others. We all need it to survive. Most of us just don't realize it, but plants need it, too. I don't understand why _ningen_ are so accepting of pet owners speaking with their pets all the time, yet frown upon those who speak with plants. A plant is just as living a creature as an animal…"

Kurama offered his hand to the randomly ranting girl bent down before him, volunteering to help her up. "Human nature, Mayonaka-_san_. Humans _are_ animals themselves, after all."

Setsu shook her head in refusal and stood up on her own, brushing loose dirt off the seat of her faded jeans. "The expression 'human nature' _doesn't_ justify human imperfection, _sempai_. I don't believe in using it as an excuse."

_Such an outside point of view._ Kurama mused. _Is this your way of telling me you're not as human as you seem?_

"_Mengo_," she knuckled her own forehead lightly. "I didn't mean to take my frustrations out on you. It's just that many people disapprove of my speaking with plants. You can probably tell by now."

"_Maa, maa. Ii yo_." He shook his head with a small smile. He didn't mind—her venting out on him _and_ her habit of talking to plants. "It's therapeutic."

Kurama resumed walking down the footpath amidst the trees, Setsu following close behind him. Only when his back was turned on her did she allow her lips to curl shyly, secretly.

"I hope you don't mind _this_, too."

He whirled behind him and found her slipping one foot off her shoe. _Nani? What are you doing this time?_

Without warning, she kicked her shoes far, far away—one after the other—then comfortably chased after them barefoot. "I like doing this once in a while, _sempai_." She turned to face him, speaking while striding shoeless backwards. "Shoes are for those who don't trust the very earth they stand on."

Green eyes traced a pair of naked human feet leisurely treading away. _So you trust this garden, then._

"Did something happen while you and Kitajima-_san_ were together?"

Kurama froze. _How did she—_

"Ame-_kun_ and I parted ways sooner than I had expected. She called him, almost begging for him to go home early. Apparently she wanted his company. He even told me that she sounded…" Setsu hung her head low, lost in thought. "… afraid."

_Even in her sleep, her hands still refused to let go of his._

"_Don't go…" murmured Maya, distress crumpling both her blanket and her face. "… Minamino_-kun_…"_

_Masaka…!_ His brow furrowed. _Did Kitajima already tell him…?_

"But why would she ever be afraid of _you_, of all people?"

_You're right—she has no reason to be afraid of me… as a human. It's my demon self she fears._

"Have you hurt her before?"

"_Nani_?" Kurama choked back a gasp. _Why would you ask me such a—_

"I said, 'Have you hurt her before?'"

A grass-green gaze fell upon just as green grass. _What I did was not meant to hurt her…_

"She may have never forgotten it."

_But she_ should _have…! In fact,_ that _was the very wrong I had done! To make her forget!_

"You are not easily forgotten, Minamino-_sempai_." Setsu stepped back into her shoes, shaking her head to herself. "You can never expect someone to just lose her memories of you. Especially if she loved you."

_Kitajima…_ A fist clenched in secret. _She loved…_

"Your friends," she now walked alongside him, clasping her hands together behind her back. "Very interesting characters. Each of them is his and her own person."

_Somehow, your abrupt change of topic doesn't surprise me any longer._ He nodded in agreement. "_Sou desu yo_."

"So there's Urameshi, and his fiancé whom he had been telling me about when I still ate at his ramen stand," Setsu counted his friends with her fingers. "I believe that he mentioned the name 'Yukimura.' You're friends with Yukimura-_san_ too, _ne_?"

"_Hai_."

She raised three more fingers, one after the other. "Then there's Kuwabara-_san_. And Yukina-_san_. I heard her call him 'Kazuma-_san_.' And then there's the older Kuwabara-_san_…"

"Her name is Shizuru," supplied Kurama. _And if only you knew what she said about you._

"_Aa_. Shizuru-_sempai_, then," Setsu stopped counting the members of Kurama's circle of friends. "She's single too, _ne_? Then why don't the two of you get together sometime?"

Kurama froze. _I was wrong. You still_ can _surprise me after all._ "Mayonaka-_san_, I—"

"Urameshi has Yukimura-_san_. And I believe that Kuwabara-_san_ has his heart set on Yukina-_san_. So if Shizuru-_sempai_ finds someone…" Blue eyes refused to meet green. "You might become their only single friend left in the long run."

Throughout his human life, Minamino Shuuichi had already heard hundreds—myriads—countless—female voices of young and old, convincing—no, _begging_—him to choose any of them as his beloved or his partner for all eternity. Not counting Minamino Shiori's, Mayonaka Setsuki's would be the first to insist that he choose _someone else._

"I've been thinking, Mayonaka-_san_. About the future." He spotted a speck of pollen drifting with the wind and caught it in his hand. "_Shikashi_, I haven't thought _that_ far into the future—"

"'Far'?" repeated Setsu with disbelief. "It isn't as 'far' as you believe, _sempai_. You're already out of school. Earning a living. Making a name for yourself—_iie_, making an even better name for yourself than when we were still students in Meiou High. Someday you might entertain the prospect of settling down." She shrugged. "Who knows?"

"Mayonaka-_san_—"

"Don't get me wrong, _onegai_. I'm not forcing you to marry within the next few years or so. I just believe that you shouldn't close yourself to the idea." She picked up a fallen wisteria leaf and playfully twirled its stalk between her pointer and thumb. "You might tell me that that should be none of my business. _Demo_, when will it _ever_ be my business?" She laughed to herself softly. "I might as well tell you now while I still can. _Ne_?"

Kurama found himself chuckling at her chattiness. Just how could Mayonaka-_san_ at times exude an air of authority decades beyond her years, yet still sound strangely like a child?

"Or did I just strike the wrong chord?" asked Setsu, a suddenly teasing gleam in those cold blue eyes of hers. "Should I have hypothetically paired you with Kitajima-_san_ instead?"

He froze again. _First Kuwabara Shizuru, and now Kitajima…!_ "Kitajima was and remains a friend—"

Setsu raised a knowing eyebrow. It almost seemed to say _I don't buy that crap._

"Minamino-_sempai_, I can see her lipstick on your teeth."

* * *

_Actually, I can't. But I_ do _know what she had just done._ Setsu's knowing eyebrow did not lower at all. _Nothing inherently wrong with that, really. But don't even_ dare_ deny it._

She eyed Kurama's face closely. Apparently, he had never been backed into _this_ kind of corner in his life.

He pursed his lips together for a split second—too quickly for an ordinary human eye to perceive. _He bought it,_ Setsu chuckled to herself. _He_ actually _believed that Kitajima_-san _had left a trace of what she did behind._

A bead of sweat trickled down his brow. "Mayonaka-_san_—"

"That's okay," Setsu casually shrugged it off. "It's no big deal. You know that Ame-_kun_ did the exact same thing to me today, too. You saw it for yourself, after all. Let's just call it even, _ne_?"

His shoulders sank. "_Aa_."

_He seems relieved. As if he just escaped a trap between the devil and the deep blue sea._ "Do _you_ believe in it, _sempai_?"

Green eyes widened. Her randomness must have caught him off-guard again. "In what?"

"The human reason behind the act of kissing?" She folded her arms across her chest. "I don't."

Kurama released the pollen grain from his carefully curled fist. "_Human_ reason…?"

"Think about it, _onegai_. Other animals kiss too, but in other ways and to achieve a different purpose. A lion and a lioness 'kiss' by nuzzling each other along the neck. I know that _ningen_ do that as well, but they do so _aside from_ the commonly accepted concept of the human kiss—to meet lips."

Setsu somehow regretted mentioning that last part. Kurama knew it all too well. "I understand that majority—if not all—_ningen_ think of it as a means to express positive affection, such as love, for and towards another _ningen_. But I believe that _ningen_ are forgetting the _true_ purpose of the kiss."

For a rather… awkward… conversational topic, Kurama found himself listening intently in spite of himself. "And what purpose is that?"

"To 'sniff out' a potential mate."

He cupped his elbow with one hand and his chin with the other, contemplating her words.

"You might tell me that _ningen_ kiss with their mouths and not their noses. But again, think about it, _onegai_. When _ningen_ perform this act, they are trying to determine if their partner is truly the one whom they will…" She found herself struggling for the words that would best express her mind. "… be with forever."

"Perhaps _ningen_ _haven't_ forgotten that, Mayonaka-_san_."

Setsu blinked.

"They simply choose to, as you say, 'look at it from another perspective'," Kurama went on. "By attaching romantic value to it."

"But it's so primal. So instinctive," she stubbornly insisted. "Two dogs sniffing each other is _their_ way of kissing—of 'sniffing out' a potential mate. _Literally_. They aren't exactly trying to tell each other, '_Ne_, I am in love with you' or something to that effect."

All of a sudden, Kurama chuckled to himself.

_What the—? What are_ you _laughing about?_ "_Nani_? What's so funny?"

"_Iiya_." He dismissed the matter with a wave of the hand. "I just never thought I'd hear you say those words," he teased. "I wonder how Hagiri-_kun_ takes it—kissing someone who doesn't believe in the kiss."

A gasp nearly escaped Setsu's lips. _How Ame_-kun _takes it…? I… I've never given that too much thought before…_

"Minamino-_sempai_, don't get me wrong, _onegai_. All I'm saying is that if one _truly_ knows whom one would want to spend the rest of one's life with, then one would see _no need_ to kiss anyone else."

Kurama fell silent.

"Let's just put it this way," Setsu pounded her fist into her palm. "If I see forever with you, then why must I still kiss you? Just to 'find out' if it's truly you? But I already _know_."

* * *

_Not everyone could undervalue the kiss as you do, Mayonaka_-san. Kurama told her tacitly, telepathically. _Not everyone finds their "significant other" as early in life as you did._

"_Mengo_," Setsu apologized sheepishly again. "I didn't mean to rant about why I don't believe in the human meaning of the kiss this time. Earlier you said that you've been thinking about the future. How near into the future do you mean, then?"

_Okashii_, thought Kurama. _That was at the back of my mind just now. Could you possibly be able to read my…?_ "Soon enough."

"Sounds like it needs immediate attention." Blue eyes widened. "Whatever it is that you're thinking about."

_So you_ can't _read my mind. But then it_ would _be typical of a mind-reader to feign the_ inability _to read minds…_ Green eyes narrowed. _What are you, really?_

"Would you like us to talk about it?"

A pang of guilt suddenly came over Kurama. There he was, casting one shadow of suspicion after another on someone who seemed to mean well all along. His gaze fell. _Perhaps_ I _should be the one apologizing to_ you. "I just thought I would not have to go through it anymore."

Setsu patiently waited for him to explain.

His fist clenched by his side. "College."

She took a long moment to respond. "Since you had decided not to attend college immediately after graduating from high school, what exactly is compelling you to attend it _now_?"

"I am working with a client '_Tou-san_'s company can't afford to lose." The Sugihara signature flashed in his memory. "Sugihara-_san_ already signed a contract with us, but he insists in engaging in transactions _only_ with—"

"Let me guess, _sempai_. He trusts only you."

Kurama humbly nodded. "_Sou_. But even I have not lived up to his standards as of yet."

"So some really valuable customer demands that you go to college, _ne_?" Setsu finished for him. "But if you pursue a three-year degree, won't he mind waiting for you for three years? And more so, won't Kazuyu-_'ji-san_'s company mind waiting for _him_ for three years?"

"I've inquired about that," Kurama nodded again. _I can't believe how easy it is to talk to you, Mayonaka_-san. _Once I've set my doubts aside._ "It turns out I need only take one credited English class to fully gain his trust. That will take only one semester."

"That sounds more reasonable."

"_Hai_." Kurama murmured gently.

"So," Setsu began. "Do you feel insulted that that Sugihara-_san_—whoever he is—fails to appreciate your grasp of the English language as the high school graduate you are now? Or do you still refuse to attend college after all these years of avoiding it? Or do you find balancing college and career problematic?" She suddenly digressed. "_Hn_. I doubt _that_…"

A pleased smile curled Kurama's lips. She could give him all the answers in all the worlds if he didn't interrupt her now. "My work schedule is flexible, Mayonaka-_san_. My supervisor also agreed to adjust it to my convenience when I am studying again."

"You don't want a salary cut, then?"

"_Iiya_." He would never admit it, but he enjoyed giving her a guessing game of his own—just like the one _she_ causes _him_ to play, whether she was aware of it or not.

"What, you don't want to be in the same campus with—and breathe the same air as—another new legion of fangirls?" An eyelid was twitching with impatience now.

A shameless chuckle escaped Kurama's lips. _That mind, Mayonaka_-san_… It serves you well._ "I just…" Suddenly his gaze fell. "… don't know how to break the news to '_Kaa-san_."

Silence hung in the air.

"Oh." Her gaze fell as well.

"_She_ wanted me to go to college right after high school," he confided to her in spite of himself. "If I had given in to her wishes, I would have been entering my third year by the end of this summer."

"So it was _you_ who wanted out."

Kurama neither spoke nor moved in response. _I saw no need for it, Mayonaka_-san. _None of my teachers knew that I was hundreds of years older than all of them—combined—and that they had nothing to teach me. Nothing old. Nothing new. Nothing at all._

"School must have bored you."

A gasp caught in his throat. A vast, verdant meadow met eye to eye with a cloudless midday sky. _No. I will_ not _let you trick me into thinking that you…_

"I know how you feel. It was a big bore to me, too."

... _understand me. _

_No. I will_ not _let you!_

"I hope you don't mind, Minamino-_sempai_, but I believe that you need to be told: You should swallow your pride. For the meantime, at least."

_My… pride…?_

"With what you've shared with me so far, I take it that you aren't looking forward to informing Shiori-'_ba-san_ of your attending college after all. I understand—it's quite a blow to your pride." Again Setsu twirled the wisteria leaf stalk still between her pointer and thumb. "Especially after you'd managed to convince her that going to work would be a better choice. I can just imagine the discussion that the two of you had over it two years ago."

_Thin, frail fingers stopped playing the piano._

"_But you're such a good student, Shuuichi!" Shiori refused to look up from the keyboard of her baby grand piano, disappointment eclipsing her face. "But if that's what you really want to do…"_

Kurama closed his eyes, blinding himself of a bleak memory from two years past. "We had no arguments. But she _was_ disappointed at first."

"She won't be now."

_If only you knew, Mayonaka_-san, _how many secrets I've kept from her… how many times I've lied…_

"I don't believe that '_Ba-san_ would ever gloat about it, _sempai_." Setsu shook her head. "You may both think of it, but she will never outright tell you, 'I _told_ you to get yourself a college education before you get a job.' Or something along those lines. I don't know much about mothers, but…"

Kurama blinked. _Sou ka. Your mother is…_

"… I _do_ know that whatever is good for their child and makes their child happy… makes _them_ happy as well."

_Whatever makes their child happy… makes_ them_…_

"If _you_'re fine with attending college after all, then I'm sure that Shiori-'_ba-san_ will be, too." Setsu grinned at him earnestly, dimples shyly revealing themselves on the corners of her cheeks. "_Ne_?"

_Mayonaka_-san... _You and_ 'Kaa-san…

Kurama suddenly found himself grinning back.

… _smile the same way._

* * *

_Was that it?_ Beneath her dimpled smile, Setsu wondered what else troubled Kurama. _Ame_-kun _has given me much greater a force to reckon with before. I don't even want to remember that time he decided to work for that darned monster Sen—_

"Mayonaka-_san_."

"_Hn?_"

"_Arigatou._"

_I wish that I could be of more help to you, though…_ "_Iie._ _I_ thank _you_. For meeting me here."

"_Aa_. This place," Kurama beheld the breathtaking scenery once again. "Is it special to you?"

"Not yet."

Green eyes widened. "What do you—"

"_Now_ it is. It's time." Her eyes tearing away from the sunset in the distance and twinkling in tacit yet thrilled excitement, Setsu suddenly climbed up the small hill by the Japanese angelica tree. She took cover behind a mound of sand, leaving Kurama down on the grassy grove. "Stay there, _onegai_. You'll see what I mean."

Just as he parted his lips to speak, butterflies of all shapes, sizes, and colors emerged from their secret alcoves and took to the air. Never had he seen so many of them fluttering all at once in just one garden. Playful Tree Nymphs, especially large and all mottled brown and white… Ominously yet seductively black Mormons… Festive orange Tigers… Clippers with zebra stripes… The appropriately named Checkered Swallowtails, which even swooped to touch the ground like swallows swift and true… Blindingly bright yellow Lemon Migrants… Lively, lovely Red Lacewings… Even the rare and elusive black, purple, and white spotted Eggflies, reminiscent of the great Monarch butterflies in the west.

"I wanted to show you where I go when no one knows where I am." Setsu called out to Kurama from above. "I don't know what everyone else calls this place, but this is 'the Butterfly Cove' to me. They come out just when the sun goes down. But don't tell anyone else, _ne_?" She raised her pointer finger before her lips and silenced him even before he could utter a word. "I don't believe that anyone else knows their secret, you see."

A pensive Kurama tilted up his head and his eyes, breathlessly taking in the splashes and sprinkles of flying color against the scarlet sunset, riveting, consuming his very being. He raised one hand, attempting to reach—to reach out to—at least one of those divine sublime, raring to touch them, but resisting even more.

_You've always liked butterflies_, she sighed sadly, her elbow leaning against the muddy mound and her temple resting on her palm. _You used to chase them all day._

As the setting sun retired between tall mountains in the horizon, the crisp, chill dusk air blew into Setsu's butterfly cove. A tranquil loneliness crossing her face, she watched him bask in quiet beauty, his long crimson hair rippling with the wind.

_Just once…_

Wisteria petals parted from their stems and branches and fluttered with the butterflies in the breeze. Without a word, a most gentle Kurama caught a petal in his hand.

… _Could Time leave us alone?_

Setsu felt the wind combing her hair and closed her eyes. This peaceful, holy moment… It was almost orgasmic.

"Mayonaka-_san_, should I have hidden myself as well?"

A gasp caught in her throat. _Hide? From the butterflies?_ "_Iie_. You don't have to. Why?"

"You aren't hiding? Then what are you doing up there?"

_Oh._ "Watching you," she answered, more truthfully than she had intended. _I hope you don't get the wrong idea._ "I've never brought anyone else here, so I just wanted to watch your reaction to the butterflies from a better angle. I hope you don't mind."

_I admit—it pains me a bit… watching you as you are now. But I don't regret it at all._

Kurama shook his head. "_Iiya_. I just thought I should have followed your lead."

_In fact, I feel like drawing you tonight._

"Why haven't you brought anyone else here? What about Hagiri-_kun_?"

Setsu rose from her hideaway and brushed loose dust and dirt off her T-shirt, eyeing him squarely yet saying nothing at all.

* * *

"I don't take Ame-_kun_ to the Butterfly Cove. Or here."

Setsu stopped before a stone sunken in sand atop the hill of the Yukimi City Memorial Garden. Calloused fingers lightly traced the ridges and wrinkles of old wisteria bark.

Kurama recognized their whereabouts. They stood right before the very grave he had seen in his dream.

_Your mother's._

"He doesn't like seeing me mourn."

Cold, blank blue eyes hid beneath a tangle of sandy brown hair.

"This is Shuuichi-_itoko_'s new _'Nii-san_, Minamino Shuuichi," Setsu said to the stone, motioning to Kurama. "Minamino-_sempai_, I would like you to meet my _Haha_."

Kurama read the name engraved in the stone. Mayonaka Kiseki's tall, beautiful male visitor bowed his head before her grave, his crimson forelocks elegantly cascading before his eyes. "_Yoroshiku onegaishimasu._"

"Funny how they have the same first name, _ne_?" Setsu pointed out to her mother with a soft, sad laugh. "Good thing they look nothing alike, otherwise they would confuse Kazuyu-_'ji-san_ and Shiori-'_ba-san_ even more than they already do."

Suddenly the mobile phone in Kurama's jeans pocket rang. He shot a glance at Setsu.

"It's no big deal," she shrugged. "Answer it."

"_Sumana_." His head hung low, Kurama curtly excused himself from both Mayonakas and strode away, retrieving and answering his phone as he distanced from them. "_Hai_. Minamino _desu. Aa, 'Kaa-san_."

_If only you knew how perfect your timing is…_

* * *

_He's just as I told you he is,_ ne_?_ Setsu shyly smiled at the stone in the sand. _Don't worry,_ Haha. _I haven't given it away._

From the corner of her eye, she made out a familiar figure emerging from the distance. He carried an untied bouquet of wild hydrangeas in his hand.

She blinked in curiosity. _But that kind of flower doesn't grow anywhere near here… He couldn't have gone to and returned from a flower shop this fast…_

Kurama drew closer just as Setsu realized the truth. _He must have conjured them on his own with his_ youki_…!_

"'_Kaa-san_ called."

"So I've heard." Setsu mumbled absently, still distracted by and with the hydrangeas in Kurama's grip. "You didn't have to walk too far. _Haha_ wouldn't complain about the noise. Even if she could."

"_Gomen_." He crouched down before the stone in the sand, gently propping the long-stemmed hydrangeas against the ebony rock. "This is all I have. Setsuna-_san_ didn't tell me of our meeting sooner."

_Nani?_ Blue eyes widened. "_Setsuna"?_

He eyed the wilted hydrangeas given from a past visit now crumbling into the sand. "I will bring you more next time."

_When will you…_ She parted her lips to speak. _… say my real name?_

But he already knew what she was about to ask. "Both of you are 'Mayonaka-_san_' to me. And didn't you once tell me she would have wanted to name you 'Setsuna'?"

_Minamino_-sempai_, you… But aren't we supposed to pretend that we never met that time? Why—_

"'_Kaa-san_ told me it's your turn to choose a restaurant tonight." Still hanging his head low before the grave, Kurama slowly rose to his feet. "Our family dines out of the house once a week. We take turns choosing where to go for supper. Last week, Shuuichi chose his favorite Mexican fast-food stand in the mall again. Tonight is your turn."

Hn_? They really do that?_ "But I… don't really have any particular place in mind…"

"_Shikashi_, _'Tou-san_ and _otouto_ might not make it in time. _'Tou-san_ is working overtime tonight, and I'm sure Shuuichi will come home late and tired from studying for his Physics test. But '_Kaa-san_ will go. And I will drive us."

_Seriously? Why are they treating me like I really_ am _a member of their family…?_ "See how hospitable their family is, _Haha_?" She grinned at her mother's burial ground and turned back to Kurama. "But I hope you don't mind if we do something else before supper."

Green eyes blinked.

She grimaced to herself. _I can't believe that I'm actually thinking of this._

"_Sempai_, could we first buy a bowl?"

* * *

Kuwabara floated in a dream.

"GYAHAHAHAHA!" His head held high and his hands firmly planted on his hips, the infatuated softie stood tall and proud before his beloved. "I, Kuwabara-_sama_, swear on our undying love that I will do _everything_ in my power to take care of that little bird!"

Yukina fondly gazed upon the white-bellied swallow now soundly sleeping on a makeshift bed made from a soap dish cushioned with several cotton balls. Gently caressing the wing wrapped in the kind female stranger's red lace, she looked up at her tall admirer and smiled sweetly. "_Un_!"

He still couldn't believe it. His one true love seemed most comfortable caring for an injured animal right within the intimate privacy of his very bedroom. The ecstatic young man suddenly took one of her hands and tightly clasped them between both of his own. "Nothing in this world makes me happier than to see _you_ happy, Yukina-_san_!"

"Oh really, Kazu?" scoffed a Shizuru appearing by the open doorway from out of the blue. "Not even autographs from all the members of that Megallica band you like so much?"

"Where'd _you_ come from?" cried a startled Kazuma, his back straightening and stiffening like an ironing board. "Stop bargin' in on Yukina-_san_ an' me like that!"

"Next time, baby brother, lock the door." Poised as always, the older Kuwabara ran her fingers through her long, silky hair. "On second thought, don't. We'll never hear the end of it from Mom if I break it open again." She strode up to Kazuma's desk and eyed the bandaged bird in bed. Her eyes rested on the red lace binding the broken wing. "That girl…"

"_Eh_?" Both Kazuma and Yukina blinked.

"Kurama-_kun_'s 'friend'." Light hazel eyes narrowing ominously, Shizuru's brows furrowed. "Kazu, when you thought you saw a guy instead of her, did you…"

"What? Spit it out, sis!"

Her frown deepened. "… Did you _know_ the guy?"

"_EHHHHH_?"

Shizuru could not go on. Those cold blue eyes still haunted her every waking moment. That properly worn necktie, just as strikingly blue… That black business suit… Those broad military shoulders… That strapping build… That long slash of a facial scar… That even longer ebony hair…

"Sakyo-_san_…" she murmured softly to herself, clapping a hand over her visibly distressed face. "But why…?"

* * *

"If some of us won't be able to go _to the food_, then we could always just bring the food _to us_." A shy smile curled Setsu's lips.

Kurama eyed the plastic bag that she would not let him carry. The package from the local department store assumed the shape of its only contents: a cardboard box, the only contents of which were crumpled newspapers that served as protective padding around a brand new ceramic bowl.

_It all makes sense now_. He sighted a most familiar peddling cart across the alley. _She wants to replace the one she broke._

The early evening train chugged past the crossroads in the railway tracks, heading east from downtown. Two alternately blinking orange railroad lights eclipsed Kurama's face one after the other as he and Setsu stepped into her favorite ramen stand.

His hairnet not quite catching all of his now-tousled gelled hair, the exhausted Yusuke slouched in his stool, hunched over his counter, and noisily sipped the last of his beef broth. Just when he dumped the last few spoonfuls of his cooking down his throat, two pairs of footsteps seized his attention.

The ramen chef looked past his bowl to find a trusted friend and a treacherous foe of his striding side by side, approaching him. "WHAT THE—?" He nearly dropped the fine china cupped in his hands. "Kurama? An' you're with—! What's goin' on?"

_Yusuke…_ An awkward chuckle threatened to escape Kurama's lips. _I must admit, this_ is _rather surprising for you to see._

An intensely scowling loyal customer of Yusuke's slid a boxy looking plastic package across his long wooden counter. "Here you go," muttered a red-faced Setsu, indignant blue eyes looking away in absolute refusal to make eye contact with the enemy. "Don't make me regret seeing you again."

"What's this?" blinked Yusuke, practically shredding the package to bits and recklessly opening the box inside. He harrumphed loudly—proudly—upon discovering the replacement bowl. "HA! I _knew_ you'd come _crawlin'_ back! Y' jus' can't resist my cookin'!"

"_Shame. Kinda makes me sorry she's never comin' back," Yusuke confessed, more to himself than to Kurama._

That chuckle from earlier finally got the better of Kurama. _But Yusuke, you were so sure that she would never…_

A brutish grumble boiled in Setsu's throat. "If you're just about done feeding _your monstrous ego_, Urameshi, could you now get around to feeding _us_?"

"Yeah, about that!" The naughtiest twinkle in his eye, Yusuke leered at both Kurama and Setsu. Perversion lit his face and leaked from his voice. "What _are_ ya guys doin' together, huh? Fin'lly hookin' up?"

Setsu's face contorted into the sourest, most awful mess it had ever managed to pull off. "One more wisecrack and I'm taking my orders _for five_ elsewhere."

"_Ohhh, no_! Ya can't blackmail me _this_ time! _Oi_, Kurama! Wha' did'ja see in this _evil li'l boy_ anyway?"

A calloused hand grabbed hold of a brand new ceramic bowl. "You must _really_ like catching breakables with your face, _ne_?"

_Trust these two to wage war over ordering takeout._ Kurama sighed to himself. _This could be a long night._

* * *

"I saw everyone but Genkai-_shihan_ and Keiko-_san_ today," Kurama cast a sidelong glance at the other _youkai_ standing beside him on the strong, sturdy tree branch. "Everyone still in _Ningenkai_, that is."

His muscled arms crossed before his chest, Hiei stared off into the night without a word, the glow of the half-moon kindling his eyes of blood.

"Yukina-_san_ is doing well."

"What makes you think I care?"

"Surely you must have come here for someone." A knowing Kurama smirked at the small, stoic demon. "Should I have assumed it was me?"

"Hmph."

Green eyes tore from raven black hair and robe. Their gaze darted past the open window of the Minamino-Hatanaka home and into the dining room, where a woman in her mid-forties and two teenagers—one male, the other female—chatted over bowls of still steaming, freshly cooked takeout ramen.

Even from the highest branch of the loftiest tree in the Minamino garden, Kurama could read their lips clearly.

"_Oi_, _itoko_! You were right!" The older Shuuichi interpreted from the younger Shuuichi's lips. "This ain't half bad!"

"_Ara_," Shiori exclaimed in a breathy, contented voice. She gently set her soup spoon down. "I like the food you chose for us, Setsuki-_chan_! We should go to that ramen shop next time with Kazuyu-_sama_!"

Absent-mindedly nodding to the older woman and poking her spoon at a thin strip of spring onion, a wide-eyed Setsu disgustedly watched her cousin devour his dinner. "What time is he coming home?"

"Anytime now," smiled the mother of the household, bowing her head low while rising from her seat. "I should reheat his ramen now. He doesn't like it cold." She pushed her dining chair towards the table and turned to her extended family. "Could you please call Shuuichi and tell him to join us? He might be in his room."

Still ravenously wolfing down his ramen, the famished Shuuichi the Younger only mumbled utter gibberish in between noisy sips and swallows. Setsu shot him a disapproving look and sighed to herself. "I'll call him, _'Ba-san_."

When she exited from the dining room and headed up the stairs, Kurama knew he had to return to his bedroom—and fast. _She mustn't know I'm outside the house. And she mustn't see—!_

"Hiei," he began, intending to bid his comrade-in-arms a farewell of sorts before leaving him behind. Green eyes sped back to the window by the staircase, searching for the family guest sent to summon him to supper.

_She's gone!_ The same green eyes widened. _Did she run?_

"What do you eat?"

Kurama bit back a gasp. _Wasn't she just going up the stairs? What is she doing right below this tree? That was too fast!_

He whirled to face the _jaganshi_ by his side. But Hiei was gone.

"You should have entertained him inside the house." Setsu did not even sneak a peek up the tree. She simply turned her back on Kurama and strode back to the front door, speaking without looking at him at all. "He might have been cold. And hungry."

She walked past the door and closed it behind her, knowing that he would not pass there.

As the tree branch beneath Kurama's feet slowly, inconspicuously stretched out and snaked all the way to his bedroom window, his brows furrowed deeply in even deeper thought.

_She saw him!_

That low, mellow voice echoed in his memory. _"What do you eat?"_

_And she knew he wasn't human! So she must have known of Yukina_-san _as well! What about Yusuke? Had she known of_ him _all along?_

_Does she know of the heightened_ reiki _of both Kuwabaras, then?_

Suddenly a gasp escaped his lips.

_Does she know of…_

"Fresh food is impatient, _sempai_." The same voice in his mind called out to him, this time from behind his closed bedroom door. "If you make it wait too long, it will get mad at you and spoil."

… _me?_

**Continued**

I just realized... this chapter had _a lot_ of characters. XD

And it was dialogue-heavy again! Mrgh! *disappointed with self, but tired of editing all the dialogue out* Kurama and Setsu sure can blab! XD (Please understand. They were apart for several chapters. ^-^)

Trivia time: The types of butterfly I mentioned in Setsu's "butterfly cove" are the very ones bred in the Butterfly Sanctuary of a boot camp in my hometown. ^^ I don't know if all of them could be found in Japan as well, though. (Let's just pretend they could. ^_^)

And just in case you were wondering if Kurama and Hiei talked about much more than they did before Setsu butted into the scene… They did. Read more of it in Chapter 13!

P.S. I miss your reviews, **Reclun**-_san_. (Has Go really taken over your life? o.o)

**Japanese to English translations and abridged YYH glossary**

_**aa**_, _**o**_, and _**un**_. Slang for _yes_ and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
_**ame**_. _Rain_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**anou**_, _**eh**_, _**hn**_, _**maa**_, and _**yo**_. Disfluencies of speech (much like the English _uh_ and _um_), not limited to the Japanese language  
_**ara**_. A Japanese expression roughly translated to the English interjections _oh dear_ or _oh my  
__**arigatou**_. _Thank you_, less formal than _arigatou gozaimasu  
_'_**ba-san**_. A contraction of _Oba-san_, a respectful address for one's own _aunt  
__**Botan**_. _Peony_, used as a name in this fic  
**-**_**chan**_. An honorific used to address _girls_, _animals_, or anything that the speaker considers to be cute; indicates great closeness or intimacy when used to address _boys  
__**char-sieu men**_. Also spelled as _char-siu men_; pork noodle soup, Yukimura Keiko's favorite in Urameshi Yusuke's ramen menu  
_**daigaku**_. _University / college  
__**dakara**_. _So / therefore  
__**demo**_. _But  
__**desu**_. Used in this fic to mean _I am_; a be verb of the Japanese language, the meaning of which differs according to context  
_**Genkai**_. _Limit_, used as a name in this fic  
_**gomen**_. _Sorry_, less formal than _gomen nasai  
__**gomoku**_** ramen**. A salt-based noodle soup with mixed seafood, chicken, and vegetables  
_**gya**_. An onomatopoetic word for a _male_ shriek or scream  
_**Haha**_. An informal address for one's own _mother  
__**hai**_. _Yes  
__**Hiei**_. _Flying shadow_, used as a name in this fic  
_**iie**_ and _**iiya**_. Formal and informal _no_, respectively  
_**ii yo**_. _That's all right / fine (with me)  
__**itoko**_. _Cousin  
__**jagan**_. _Third eye_ (not to be referred to as "_jagan_ eye," as that would be redundant)  
_**jaganshi**_. _Master_ of the _jagan  
_'_**ji-san**_. A contraction of _Oji-san_, a respectful address for one's own _uncle  
__**jitsu wa**_. _Actually_; Kurama almost always uses this when he begins explaining_  
_'_**kaa-san**_. A contraction of _Okaa-san_, a respectful address for one's own _mother  
__**Kaname**_. _Strength_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Kazuma**_. _Peace_ and _truth_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Keiko**_. _Inclination / tendency / trend_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kiseki**_. _Miracle_, used as a name in this fic  
_**koorime**_. _Ice maiden_ or a member of the tribe of ice maidens in YYH  
**-**_**kun**_. An honorific used to address _boys_ or boyish girls  
_**Kuwabara**_. _Mulberry field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Makai**_. _Demon World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**manga**_. Japanese _comics_, such as YYH  
_**masaka**_. _Impossible / (There's just) no way  
__**mayonaka**_. _Midnight_, used as a name in this fic  
_**mengo**_. Not an actual Japanese word; Mayonaka Setsuki's version of _sorry_  
_**Minamino**_. _Southern field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**minna**_. _All / everyone  
**nami**_. _Wave_, used as a nickname in this fic_  
__**nani**_. _What  
__**ne**_. An expression for seeking confirmation (much like the English tag questions _isn't it_ or _okay_)  
'_**nii-san**_. A contraction of _Onii-san_, a respectful address for one's own _older brother  
__**ningen**_. _Human / human being  
__**Ningenkai**_. _Human World_ (as opposed to the Demon World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**oi**_. An expression similar to the English _hey_, not limited to the Japanese language  
_**okashii**_. _Strange_  
_**onegai**_. _Please_, less formal than _onegaishimasu  
__**otouto**_. _Little brother / younger brother  
__**Reikai**_. _Spirit World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Demon World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**reiki**_. _Spirit(ual) power_, wielded by _ningen_ (as opposed to _youki_)  
_**-sama**_. An honorific used to address someone very respectfully, like _lord_ or _master_; a sign of conceited arrogance when used to refer to the self  
**-**_**san**_. An honorific used to address someone politely  
**-**_**sempai**_. An honorific used to address an upperclassman  
_**setsu**_. _Opinion_, used as a nickname in this fic  
**_setsuna_**. _Moment (in time)_  
_**-shihan**_. An honorific used to address a female master of a skill or art (such as martial arts) in a formal, archaic manner  
_**shikashi**_. _However  
__**Shizuru**_. _Quiet river_, used as a name in this fic  
_**shoyu**_** ramen**. A dish of noodle soup combining chicken (or vegetable) broth and soy sauce, optionally garnished with spring onions, fish cakes, and seaweed, among others; may or may not be served spicy  
_**Shuuichi**_. _Excellence first_, used as a name in this fic  
_**sou**_** (**_**desu yo**_**)**. _Yes_, _I agree_ and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
_**sou ka**_. _That's right / I just remembered  
__**sumana**_. Kurama and other Japanese males say this to mean _excuse me / pardon me_ instead of the politer term _sumimasen_ or the even politer term _shitsurei shimasu_, but the actual Japanese word for this is _sumaranai  
_**-**_**tachi**_. A pluralizing suffix (much like the English -s and -es); to be used with discretion because Japanese words can be singular or plural even without it, depending on the context  
_**tantei**_. _Detective_; used in this fic to refer to the _Reikai Tantei _(Spirit Detectives) Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei  
_**'**__**tou-san**_. A contraction of _Otou-san_, a respectful address for one's own _father  
__**tsuki**_. _Moon_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**Urameshi**_. _Bay rice_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Yoroshiku**_. _Pleased to be of your acquaintance / meet you_; less formal than _yoroshiku onegaishimasu_, a greeting that the Japanese customarily say to someone they just met, roughly translating to _please take care of me / please treat me well  
__**youkai**_. _Demon  
__**youki**_. _Demon(ic) power_, wielded by _youkai_ (as opposed to _reiki_)  
_**Yukimura**_. _Snow village_ (_yuki_ is translated as _snow_, _mura_ as _village_), used as a name in this fic  
_**yuri**_. _Lily_ (the flower)  
_**Yusuke**_. _Ghost helper_, used as a name in this fic

For the nth time, if I missed anything that you need translating or explaining, just say so in the Reviews page. **Please REVIEW! Thank you so much! ^-^**


	13. Setsu's True Form

**A/N  
**Okay, so I didn't take two Thursdays and two Sundays to finish typing and editing this chapter… because I really intended to post something in time for Kurama's birthday~ *puts on cone-shaped party hat* *showers colorful birthday confetti everywhere*

Due to reader-reviewer requests, this **Mini-Chapter 3** shall remain posted up as Chapter 13 of this fanfic. For good. The _real_ continuation of Chapter 12 is now up as **Chapter 14**.  
But please rest assured that this chapter won't leave you empty-handed.  
Below is a longer, quite… revealing… **teaser of Chapter 14**.  
And, of course, the **mini-chapter**. (It's hilarious, I've been told. ^-^)

Before you start entertaining ideas, hatching conspiracy theories, and plotting various slow, painful ways to torture me to certain death, I just want you to know that **the events in the following mini-chapter **_**never**_** happened** throughout this entire fanfic. I just felt like typing it because of Kurama Birthday Fever. (Ten thousand pounds of _crack_! XD)

I can't afford to update this fast (and this isn't even all that fast) from now on, though—I _really_ need at least two weeks in between updates to be able to post _complete_ chapters. But now that I've somehow managed to update anyway…

Happy reading! ^-^

* * *

Chapter 13 is fondly dedicated to our dearest birthday celebrant, as well as to my readers who had reviewed Chapter 12 so amazingly fast! _I love you all!_ (Yes, you too, Kurama~ XD)

**AkaMizu-chan**-_san_: Thank you for understanding! ^-^ This is as fast an update as I could pull off in between post-graduate classes. But I should be able to post the complete Chapter 13 by next week. Please keep reading! And reviewing! ^^

**DiesIrae773**-_san_: That's all right! Please don't feel bad about it! O.O Okay, then—the eventual pairings in this fic will just "surprise" you. \^o^/ And yes, the puzzle _is_ coming together piece by piece now! XD But it has yet to become even more complicated from here. ^-^

**loser94**-_san_: Thank you! Here—your waiting time isn't so long anymore! (I'm afraid I'll need another week to post the complete Chapter 13, though. Well, at least I posted this in time for Kurama's birthday, didn't I? XD)

**Unita**-_san_: Yeah, _why_ didn't you post your review when you first typed it? XD I'm not complaining, really. (In fact, I'm always excited to read your reviews! ^-^) But your reviews _do_ turn out longer than everyone else's…

Yup, Genkai is still alive in this fanfic. (For a reason that will be revealed when the time is right.) I have been abiding by the anime version of YYH throughout this entire fic—except I've also included Maya in the cast. Again, you're right about Maya's theory being too suspiciously accurate. (Please read on to find out the explanation behind _that_.) I appreciate the way you tend to question everything characters do in fics. Your critical eye and mind inspire me to improve. ^^

So you've read my other YYH fanfic, _**Stop Obsessing over Kurama!**_ too, then? Unfortunately, I was unable to read your thoughts on it because your review got cut at that part. Could you please share it with me again? (You could type it as a review for _that_ fic.) I would love to know what you have to say about it! ^o^

Actually, I also think of Ogata Megumi's voice as the One True Voice (OTV? Sounds weird XD) of Kurama. In fact, I have been imagining him speaking with _her_ voice all throughout this fic. As for Mr. John Burgmeier… He may not be the One True Voice of Kurama to me, but his… smoldering… voice makes my knees grow weak. XD

And as for Paku Romi being my personal OTV (it still sounds weird XD) for Setsu… I know I already typed this in the Chapter 11 FAQs, but I'll suggest it again anyway: You should listen to her singing _**Returnable Memories**_ **(from the **_**Hagaren Song File – Edward Elric**_** album of Fullmetal Alchemist)** and _**Naked Flower**_ **(from the anime Murder Princess)**, because _that_'s how I imagine Setsu sounds! What a mature, powerful voice! \^o^/ If you want, I could e-mail you the MP3s of those very songs. Just feel free to tell me you want them. ^-^

I completely, wholeheartedly agree with you on your view of why Kurama deserves to be the main protagonist of YYH fics! I couldn't have said it better myself! ^^ The only reason I included that question in the Chapter 11 FAQs was because a real-life friend of mine—who is familiar with only the first saga of YYH—asked me that very question once. So I posted it up for her sake, as well as for anyone else who isn't quite convinced of how interesting and intriguing a character Kurama really is. And yes, YYH fans _do_ love alter egos and secrets. Even more than the fight scenes in the series, I believe.

And yes again, Kurama's journey towards self-discovery. He has an entire _lifetime_ to relearn and remember. ^^ I'm so excited to reveal it all already, but we're still only in Chapter 13! T.T

Oh, it's a good thing you asked! There will indeed be cataclysmic catastrophes of worldly proportions in this fic! They just haven't been introduced yet, but they will be. When the time is right. ^^ After all, it ain't YYH if the Human World ain't somehow hanging in the balance. XD (I should have included this question in the Chapter 11 FAQs! *bonks self on head*)

"Love-rivalry"? "Setsu vs. Maya"? "Kurama vs. Sniper"? Err… I can't tell you what Chapter 10 was all about. Sorry. But you _can_ always click back and read it. ^-^ (Here's a helpful hint: It's Kaname x Setsu-centric. So if you're not too fond of that pairing, then you didn't miss much. I _am_ wondering how you read Mini-Chapter 2 without reading Chapter 10, though. Mini-Chapter 2 is the continuation of Chapter 10, after all.)

You know, I've read several fics wherein the members of the YYH gang were all older, but then the fics generally revolved around them already having children with each other… then their children eventually growing up and becoming classmates, fellow Spirit Detectives, married to each other too, et cetera. And you're right—they were just short, "minor" fics.

What? You had read Chapter 12 _before_ reading the teaser for it? Now that was just… wrong. XD Teasers work only when you read them before reading that which they're "teasing" you of in the first place! XDD

I greatly appreciate these particular sentences from your review: "Write the fic as you feel is right. I think you know better what's best for the fic." I found them touching. ^^ I've been so concerned with giving all of you opportunities to "mold" this fic into what you would want to read… that I've almost forgotten that in the end, I myself have the last word. Thank you for reminding me of that. ^-^ Actually, you could _still_ tell me if you would like me to lessen—or altogether stop—my use of Japanese throughout the remainder of this fic. Just say so in a review.

Thank you for complimenting me again! I was fond of that opening "ramen shop" scene in Chapter 12, too. (Was it obvious how much I personally like Shizuru? XD) And yeah, Kurama changed in front of Maya. I can't wait to type the rest of _their_ story, too. ^^

And what a brilliant observation you made—Kurama and Setsu's "pretense" and "denial," as you had called them, _are_ starting to "waver" all right! (Did the sudden "Setsuna" give you that idea?) There's a reason behind that too, of course. Please read on to find out! ^-^

P.S. The Kurama x Maya YouTube videos you watched? _I_ made them. Because no one else has. So I took it upon myself. ^^ They really _should_ animate that bonus _manga_ chapter, shouldn't they?

**Milli** (dot) **Helen**-_san_: Thank you so much! For your review, and for asking for the translation of _setsuna_! (I had forgotten to include it in the glossary part of Chapter 12. I've added it now. Sorry about that. ^^;) _Setsuna_ is directly translated to _moment (in time)_. Notice how Setsu's nicknames _kisetsu_ (_season_) and _setsuna_ (_moment_) are both related to time? XD

Were you able to imagine the Butterfly Cove in detail, then? I think I could have done better in describing it—I should have depicted it as more heavenly and stuff. XD But I'm glad to know you loved it anyway. ^^ I am also quite fond of the dynamic between Yusuke and Setsu—I find it crucial that _not_ all canon characters instantly "like" and "get along with" the OC, especially if the canon character in question is a main one, and one known for going with his gut in judging characters, at that. (Well, we know he had placed his full faith in Kurama, Hiei, and Mitarai at some point in the series, to name a few.)

And your opinion of Kurama's thoughts about Setsu "undervaluing" the kiss was spot on, actually. ^-^ How perceptive of you to have noticed. \^o^/ You're right—Kurama _was_ in fact so sure that Setsu had already found a lifetime partner (in Kaname) that I, too, feel that he had "overestimated" their relationship—he seems to believe that _he himself_ has _no_ chance with her anymore. (Awww. Poor Kurama.) Oh, well. Let's just see how it all turns out, then! ^_^ Thank you, too, and happy reading~!

**Micah Rapp Cullen**-_san_: Thank you for your compliments! ^-^ And for your honesty. I understand why you chose to do that—this fanfic _was_ meant to make you feel that way; it _is_ a mystery, after all. ^-^ I'm sorry to make you—and everyone else—wait so long for the tapestry of this entire fic to unravel. But as you yourself said, this fic "doesn't just give us everything." So please, keep on reading—and keep on reviewing. (I already sent you a PM regarding how many more chapters there will be. I wouldn't want to shock the readers who prefer not to know. XD)

And **A Last Kiss For Succubus**-_san_: Hello there! Nice to finally hear from you! ^-^ Don't worry—your review isn't too late. (It will never be. ^^) Actually, going to _school_ is more of a pain than going through all of your motivating reviews. Thank you for sharing your preferences! I'll keep them in mind. (Especially the *coughhintscough*. XD) And please, feel free to call me Mika-_chan_—hopefully even in your next reviews! I hope to hear from you again soon!

Then here's another shout-out to the new readers of this little fanfic of mine who just joined us in Chapter 12: **IronBell**, **Xanaldie**, **ShadowFireFox13**, **T. R. Blessing**, and **Luna Light Firefall**! (Anyone else I forgot to mention? ^^;) I hope to read your reviews soon!

As for everybody else… _Where are you?_ I miss you and your reviews already…!

* * *

**Please note: The events portrayed herein _never_ transpired in actuality throughout the course of this entire fanfic.  
**This is just a cracktastic mini-chapter; a product of tired, broken mind. So **please, do **_**not**_** take this seriously**. Thank you very much.

**Mini-Chapter 3: Setsu's True Form  
**Alternative Mini-Chapter Title: **Caught in the Act**

Target sighted.

Cold blue eyes gazed out the sliding window. A calloused palm pressed against the glass.

So she was still sleeping over in his house that night. And she was still up at this unholy hour.

Not good.

Not good at all.

Hagiri Kaname parked his slick cobalt Yamaha under a street lamppost just a few meters away from the gate of the Minamino-Hatanaka home, setting up a quick escape for later. Stuffing his hands into the side pockets of his windbreaker, he strayed away from the lamplight and took cover behind a nearby wall.

Lavender eyes narrowed ominously.

She can't deny him now.

* * *

_Should I just run away with him…? Not attend college…?_

Setsu stared blankly at the gloomy gibbous moon. Danger clouded the starless night sky.

_Leave everything—and everyone—behind…?_

Suddenly, a curt yet commanding knock captured her attention.

"Mayonaka-_san_?"

Blue eyes widened. She stepped away from Kurama's bedroom window and towards his study table in utter darkness. "_Hn_?"

Slowly, the knob turned and the door cracked open. Light from the second floor hallway of the Minamino-Hatanaka residence flooded into the room.

"Ah. You're still awake." Toning his voice down for the sake of his soundly sleeping relatives, Minamino Shuuichi quietly padded into his own room.

"_Hai_. Sleep here tonight, _onegai_." Groping in the dark, Setsu somehow managed to scoop up her sketchpad and pencils from Kurama's desk. She held them up for him to see. "I will stay downstairs the whole night, anyway."

Kurama fumbled for the light switch. "No need to leave, Mayonaka-_san_. I'm just looking for the files I need to review for tomorrow's board meeting. You may draw here—"

"Thanks, but no, thanks."

Her drawing materials under the crook of her arm, she strode past him and his bedroom door, into the hall, and down the stairs.

"But I wasn't going to take long…"

Kurama blinked, his eyes adjusting to the pitch black of the night.

* * *

His first instinct was to tap her window with something. Something small. A pebble would do. But he knew she wasn't as stupid as he always said she was. She would know that it was him—and promptly shoo him away even before he could make his move.

So he scaled the wall of the two-storey house. He was not used to it at all. He grabbed onto everything he managed to get his hands on, shinnied up every long vine and pipe in his reach, and hung on for dear life.

Worse, that guestroom she stayed in… It didn't even have a balcony.

Her real room did.

But that was in the _eighth_ floor of a high-rise condominium tower! He couldn't climb his way up to her room even in a life-and-death emergency!

Kaname gritted his teeth. At least _this_ place had only two floors. Ambushing her here was actually humanly possible.

"Tsuki…!" He muttered between climbing townhouse and clenching teeth.

Damn. This had _better_ turn out the way he wants it to.

* * *

_Should I have let her stay downstairs alone?_

A hazy sliver of moonlight alone guiding his eyes, Kurama leafed through the folders lining his study. He chuckled to himself. _If I didn't know I was really suspicious of her, I'd say that almost sounded…_

He stopped.

_What if she's just waiting for me to let my guard down? What if she's up to something?_ Paranoid green eyes widened. _I left everyone in this house open to attack!_

A deep, disquiet discomfort running through his veins, he was already turning his heels to leave when suddenly, his window slid open on its own.

A gasp caught in his throat as the midnight wind roaring from his now open window violently banged his bedroom door shut.

_Everyone_, he repeated in his mind. _Starting with me._

The presence loomed behind him, haunting, harrowing. A tremendous flow of _reiki_ crackled beneath the floorboards, electrifying him from under the carpet—from under his shoes—like supercharged static. A bead of sweat trickled down his brow.

_I've never sensed her_ reiki _before,_ he told himself mentally. _So why does it seem… familiar?_

Just when he thrust his hand into his hair to retrieve a plant weapon, a pair of human hands clapped before his face—one blinding his eyes, the other jamming right into his mouth.

* * *

"That's it, Tsuki! You're not going to college! You're coming with me whether you like it or not!"

He _wanted_ to say it. But he didn't. He was all too aware that uttering a single word would without a doubt give him away.

The Sniper took advantage of the dark.

Keeping one hand over both her eyes, he yanked his fist out of his girlfriend's bite and pinned her left arm—the stronger, more dominant one—behind her back. As he expected, she winced—too softly for anyone, even him himself, to hear—but neither struck back nor screamed. She would not want to wake her kind, hospitable hosts and hostess after all. She was always like that—more considerate of others than of herself… even when her life was already on the line.

A sly smirk crept up his lips.

This wasn't so bad.

Actually… it was pretty exciting.

It didn't help that her face kinda felt smoother than before, either.

* * *

Kurama winced to himself. For a human female two to three inches shorter than he was, Mayonaka-_san_ was physically stronger than he had thought.

_Silence,_ he commanded to himself as his other arm was also seized and shoved behind him. _She mustn't know that you know it's her!_

The hand forcefully gripping his wrists together didn't feel like hers, though. A vivid memory flashed across his mind.

"_How about you, Minamino_-sempai_? Do you always do_ that_?"_

_A calloused right hand pressed against tightened, bloodied left fingers, uncurling them… straightening them… sliding in between them._

"_Inflicting harm on yourself won't free you of anything."_

Another gasp caught in his throat.

_These hands!_ Shrouded, sightless green eyes widened. _They aren't calloused at all!_

* * *

Kaname felt it—that rippling wave of hair reaching all the way down Tsuki's back.

But her hair was short now! It had been for three months!

Was three months enough for her hair to grow this long? But wait—they had just been together earlier today, and her hair _still_ ended by the nape of her neck!

Was this her hair in her true form, then? Was he finally going to see the Tsuki he had never before seen?

He couldn't take it anymore! He just _had_ to run his fingers through that thick, glorious head of hair!

With neither reluctance nor remorse, Kaname shamelessly threw her onto the bed before them, holding her head down onto a pillow. He still refused to let her catch any sight of him at all.

He did it.

God, her hair was soft.

* * *

Kurama froze.

_What are you doing, Mayonaka_-san_?_

The weight pushing down on his back was twenty—no, more!—pounds heavier than he estimated Mayonaka-_san_ to be.

_Could this be your true form? Are you really…_

He hoped that she did not notice his hair budge slightly. He was already channeling his _youki_ into the short-stemmed red rose hidden beneath. Any moment now, it would morph into his trusty Rose Whip and hack her to shreds without him even having to move.

_It shouldn't have had to come to this._

There. His whip was ready now.

_Get away while you still can, Mayonaka_-san. _Don't die. Fight me._

He closed his eyes.

* * *

Wait—why were her legs longer?

Kaname harrumphed to himself. Of course! She was in her "true" form! She might be taller in her true form!

Even in the merciless dark of the night, he saw her now-long hair suddenly part across the middle, revealing the back of her neck. Damn, such perfect alabaster skin Tsuki had! It almost made him weak.

Little did he know that a lethal weapon was about to creep out of there and strike.

He drew closer to that long, slender neck, unable to resist the temptation to rain it with soft, light—

* * *

Light.

Setsu flicked on the light switch and blinked.

"Don't mind me. Carry on."

Without even looking at them, she collected a handful of colored pencils and returned to her drawing space on the dining table, paying no heed to the sudden rapid exchange of cracks and thwacks from upstairs.

_Well, at least now I know whom I will draw next._

Her slipper falling off her foot, she started sketching an outline of two gorgeous guys lying in bed together.

* * *

"I should have _known_ you weren't her!" Kaname yelled at Kurama. Of course—Tsuki would _never_ have let him touch her that way!

He only wished she did.

_I should have_ known _you weren't her!_ Kurama yelled at himself. Of course—Mayonaka-_san_ would _never_ touch him that way!

He only—

Never mind.

* * *

_And now I also know why those two have legions of fangirls…!_

Setsu laughed aloud in time with sudden cries of battle, pain, and just a little pleasure.

_That was hot!_

**The end (to this madness XD)**

I _love_ writing mysteries. XDD

This is the _last_ mini-chapter for _**The Kurama whom Kurama Never Knew**_. (There will be no more occasions for any in the future.)

And now… The teaser for Chapter 14! (Since the last one focused on Kurama and Maya, this one features Setsu. ^-^)

Her back suddenly thrust forward, rising out of bed. She found herself panting heavily, her shoulders rising and falling fast, cold beads of sweat trickling down the bridge of her nose.

_Those wretched souls._

The digital alarm clock on the bedside table read six thirty-seven. Warm golden dawn seeped through the drawn curtains.

_But what need would they have of my pity?_

Trembling too faintly for her to see, her own hand moved on its own, slowly reaching for the stuffed toy animal leaning against the alarm clock. Setsu closed her eyes as she held the white fox plushie in her arms, its fuzzy fur brushing against the flesh of collarbone peeking out of her buttoned pajamas.

She buried her chin between the fox's ears, taking in the feel of velvet on her skin.

_Let go._

Yet the more she resisted, the longer its nose pressed upon her chest.

* * *

"_Nyaaa_! Kurama!"

The human-feline hybrid opened its big, cat-like lilac eyes, only to trade stunned gazes with Setsu.

"Wait a second!" A hand suddenly poked out of a long, oversized kimono sleeve and pointed an accusatory finger at the stranger in Kurama's room. "You're not Kurama!"

Setsu eyed the mysterious, light blue-haired teenage girl in an old-fashioned carnation pink kimono comfortably perched on a long wooden rowboat oar. Had she not been floating in mid-air, the otherworldly being could convincingly pass off as a human.

But Setsu knew better.

"I know," she chuckled at the feisty visitor's comment. "He won't be back from his office until tonight. But I could make a good answering machine." She grinned at the flying deity, dimples shyly revealing themselves on the corners of her cheeks. "Would you like to leave a message for him with me—"

The ferry-girl blinked once, twice. Wasn't this human girl in Kurama's bedroom the least bit scared—or curious—of her at all?

"—Botan-_sama_?"

* * *

Her eyes blank, the middle-aged woman in the apron sank to her knees.

"Setsuki…" murmured Shiori to herself, the whole world blurring, spinning around her. "Where… is he…?"

_Your walls are crumbling down, one by one._

Setsu hung her head low and bit her lip.

_Minamino_-sempai.

She closed her eyes.

_Help me._

* * *

_Only with you is he truly at peace_.

A calloused fist clenched in secret.

_You're not making it any easier for me to like you, Hiei._

"Leave, and I will believe that you are _afraid_ of me."

"Tch." The _jaganshi_ spat to the side, blood red eyes threatening to take her life.

Setsu suddenly felt a razor-sharp blade pinned close—too close—to her throat.

**Continued**

Yes, I posted this chapter just for the sake of posting _something_ in time for Kurama's birthday.

_**Otanjoubi omedetou**_**, Kurama~! \^o^/**


	14. The Secretive Son

**A/N  
**Homework. This. Homework. This. Homework. This. Homework! This!

Thank heavens _this_ won. XD

(Don't worry—my homework assignments are all done, too. ^-^)

* * *

As you can see, I posted the complete Chapter 13 as Chapter 14 instead. Much love to those who cared enough to review:

**Pewter Queen**-_san_: Hi there! Thank you for finally reviewing! \^o^/ Yup, Setsu is shamelessly into BL. She just never had a chance to show it in previous chapters. XD Since your e-mail address isn't in your profile page, please share it with me—through either a PM or another review—so I could send you the MP3s of _**Returnable Memories**_ and _**Naked Flower**_. Please tell me what you think of Paku Romi as the voice I have in mind for Setsu, then! I hope to hear from you again soon! ^^

**xenocanaan**-_san_: Thank you! Please keep on reading and reviewing! ^-^

**loser94**-_san_: Thank you for answering my question! There—I kept it as Chapter 13, all right. ^^

**DiesIrae773**-_san_: Thank you for answering my question as well! (So much for writing Kurama x Setsu—I'm having even more fun writing _Kaname_ x Setsu—and even _Kaname_ x _Kurama_! XD But that was just crack. XDD) Here's the complete Chapter 13, then—as Chapter 14! ^-^

**Aika Hanagawa** a.k.a. **Shush Love**-_san_: Wow. Thank you for adding this little fanfic of mine—and me too!—in all your Favorites and Alerts! ^-^ It is truly an honor. _Oo nga eh—pati ako, nahahabaan sa sarili kong mga_ chapters. XD With its length as of now, I don't advise that this fic be read in its entirety in just one sitting. But I'm glad to know you love it all the same! I hope to hear from you again soon!

And **Kaori Minamino**-_san_: Hey there! I missed your reviews! \^o^/ (I was beginning to think you weren't reading this anymore, so I'm really relieved to learn I was wrong. ^^;) By "now I have internet to review," do you mean that you _don't_ have it most of the time? Just curious.

If you had read Chapter 13 a.k.a. Mini-Chapter 3 _before_ Chapter 12, then Setsu's "to run or not to run away with Kaname" dilemma might not have made much sense to you at first. ^-^; Solar flares and swamp gas FTW~! XD Kidding aside, Kurama has a plan. He'll straighten things out with Maya… again, when the time is right. ^^

And yes, "Setsu has [Kaname's] back, even if he had her face." So wittily said. *nods* I can't sum it up any other way. XD And I loved Kuwabara for that "most epic moment ever," too. XDD (I had been itching to write his big blunder since Chapter 2, you know.)

IMHO, Setsu finally introduced Kurama to her late mother _formally_ so as to somehow lend a sense of closure to his "Was it all just a dream?" question. Actually, she _doesn't_ want to lie to him at all. (She just _has to_, for some reason.) Keeping the truth from him had always pained her, so now she's starting to make up for it. And I think Kurama is subconsciously trying to help her—by bringing up another one of her nicknames, he himself had also put a "pretend past" of theirs behind him. Sigh. Well, they're getting there. Little by little. ^-^

Oh, and that Shiori-school problem of Kurama's is only the first of many, many more. His is a tangled, tangled web he had weaved over the years—she has yet to unpack tons more of his emotional baggage. XD I just _loved_ how you interpreted the long teaser! "Everything is definitely not going the way Kurama would want it," all right! Until next time, then! ^_^

And here's yet another shout-out to the new readers of this little fanfic of mine who just joined us in Chapter 13: **StrawberryxXxKisses**, **turtwigfan98**, **Aikalin**, and **PoisonAndSugar**! (Anyone else I forgot to mention? ^^;) I hope to read your reviews soon!

All of you know by now that it just wouldn't be me typing this if I never at least once mention this…  
**Happy reading!**

* * *

**14: The Secretive Son  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **Kurama's Closet**

"Take it."

The thousand-year-old fox in pseudo-human form froze.

Why has the Eternal not slain him yet? Has the unseen, unforgiving spirit of Time truly spared him? Is this all a trap?

Just then, another bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the rundown, ruined dungeon.

No. The Eternal was still as merciless as ever.

But not to him.

Youko Kurama gazed upon the omnipotent golden hourglass cradled in that frail, pale hand clasped in his own. Fine grains of sand sieved down its curved bottleneck even as it lay on its side. He had no doubt at all—it was real.

So why was the Eternal all too willing to give its treasure away?

_Take it_, it commanded him once more, this time within the tranquil privacy of its mind. _It is as meaningless to me as you gauge your life to be._

Something tugged at the corners of the Eternal's yet invisible lips. A smile. When was the last time it smiled? It could not even remember.

_You poor beast._ It could not bring itself to condemn the very thief who had broken into its long-forsaken castle. No. Its cell. _You haven't been bathed in two centuries!_

He smelled strongly of lust—of his own bile and saliva, his mouth watering beyond his conscious control. The spirit of Time could feel his loins aching for conquest; an unquenched thirst drying his veins, dictating his every move. His heartbeat betrayed him. Beneath those liquid, longing eyes, the longtime leader of the most notorious and feared band of thieves in all of _Makai_ desired more than just the sandglass mirroring the gold of his eyes.

He coveted answers.

Answers that it was expressly forbidden to give.

_You may have that_, the Eternal told him tacitly, telepathically. _But you may not have the satisfaction of success. Forever suffer from the predator's most desperate frustration—facing no resistance from your prey at all!_

Cunning eyes studied the wretched, emaciated hand separating his from his most prized _Toki no Suna_. A thin film of skin sheathed a tangled web of veins drained of color, a pulse, and life. A ghastly scar ran the length of the Eternal's ashen palm.

"Let go," demanded the sexless, shapeless form. But its voice fell on deaf ears.

Still a brittle, broken body with no face, the Eternal pulled its hand away from his. Kurama seized hold of that limp wrist before it could get away and vanish from his sight forever.

_Let go of me._ The faceless being gnashed imaginary teeth. _Go away._

"This."

A stubborn, slender ivory finger with a razor-sharp canine nail slid across the Eternal's wounded palm, tracing its unsightly scar slowly… gently.

"From where did this…?"

Unseen but all-seeing eyes lowered their gaze.

_Even if I told you, you would not remember._ The Eternal sighed without lips and closed its inexistent eyes. _Go away, Kurama._

A thin, wasted hand gripped that flawless fox finger with all its remaining strength. Shutting its eyes even more tightly, the Eternal forced a gulp down its burning throat.

_Go away—before I beg you to stay!_

"What does it matter?" spat the airy, androgynous voice. "This is just a mission to you."

"Time alone cannot heal all wounds." Youko Kurama thrust his hand into his hair, golden eyes glistening with a secret. "A rose shorn of sun shall never grow."

_Speech befits your tongue, Kurama._ Another smile—wry, and only half this time—curled the Eternal's lips. _But you should have remembered I'm not too fond of flowery poetry._

Suddenly, the only window in the dark, desolate bedroom gave way, its crisscrossed wrought-iron bars breaking from rusted stone and crumbling to pieces. The Eternal opened its eyes to the glorious sight of the collapse of its jail cell wall and the entire stretch of night-drenched world beyond.

_Nani?_ It bit back a gasp. _But I am to be locked here for all—_

"You are free."

Dusty streaks of midnight moonlight stabbed through the wrecked wall and guided—blinded—their eyes. The Eternal found a maze of long, winding _Makai_ vines snaking through the cracks in the stone of its now demolished prison wall. Upon serving their purpose, the demon-manipulated plants slowly slithered past the ruins back to—and all the way around—Youko Kurama's muscled arm.

The sandglass of infinite power safely clutched in his claws, Kurama trampled upon the stone rubble before him and leapt out into the night.

_Matte!_ A lifeless hand in a long scarlet kimono reached out to touch his back, only to grasp thin air. _You forgot—!_

Colorless, weightless human feet floated over debris, over jagged remains of the stone wall that once imprisoned a sentenced convict for all its near-immortal life.

Endless green eyes could only watch the silver-haired human-fox leader in immaculate white flee alongside his human-bat deputy clad in black, their silhouettes ebbing into the distance and finally flitting out of sight.

The blurred, clouded glow of the _Makai_ moon shone on the Eternal's now visible face.

_This isn't what I wanted. _

He was gone. Yet the Eternal still felt his finger caressing the scar in its palm.

_Damn it, Kurama!_

A slashed hand tightened its grip on the short-stemmed red rose the thief had left behind.

* * *

Her back suddenly thrust forward, rising out of bed. She found herself panting heavily, her shoulders rising and falling fast, cold beads of sweat trickling down the bridge of her nose.

_Those wretched souls._

_Didn't even cry._

The digital alarm clock on the bedside table read six thirty-seven. Warm golden dawn seeped through the drawn curtains.

_But what need would they have of my pity?_

Trembling too faintly for her to see, her own hand moved on its own, slowly reaching for the stuffed toy animal leaning against the alarm clock. Setsu closed her eyes as she held the white fox plushie in her arms, its fuzzy fur brushing against the flesh of collarbone peeking out of her buttoned pajamas.

She buried her chin between the fox's ears, taking in the feel of velvet on her skin.

_Let go._

Yet the more she resisted, the longer its nose pressed upon her chest.

* * *

"'_Kaa-san_, there's something you should know."

Kurama straightened out another placemat on their dining table.

"_Ara_," exclaimed a most worried Shiori as she placed a glass atop the right-hand corner of the tablemat. "Is something the matter, Shuuichi?"

A flat, spoon-shaped rice scooper in his hand, the dutiful son lifted the lid off their rice cooker and began serving newly cooked rice into five black china bowls. "_Iiya_. Nothing's wrong, _'Kaa-san_. It's just…"

The middle-aged woman in the frilly pink apron carried a plate of five eggs fried sunny side up. "Yes?"

Kurama heaved a sigh. "I've been thinking. It's about time I go to college."

A soft gasp escaped his human mother's lips. For a split second, she stopped pouring coffee into Hatanaka Kazuyu's trusty mug. "But where? Meiou?"

"I don't know."

Crimson forelocks hid endless green eyes.

The coffee flowed again. "When will you start?"

"This coming school year." Shuuichi the Elder set five bowls of white milled rice upon five different placemats. "_Shikashi_, I wasn't able to qualify for entrance to any university yet. I must have missed most testing dates by now."

Suddenly a warm, tender hand clapped onto his shoulder.

"Don't worry," assured a serenely smiling Shiori. "You don't have to take any tests. Meiou _Daigaku_ has been waiting for you."

His gaze fell. "But I deferred my entry into Meiou indefinitely, '_Kaa-san_. My scholarship…"

"They miss their best student, Shuuichi."

Kurama hung his head low, sorrowful regret written across his face. "If I could appeal for my entry despite short notice, I will go even if I lose eligibility for scholarship. I've saved enough of my salary to shoulder my education—"

Shiori gently shook her head. "Kazuyu-_sama_ already told me your reason for doing this. But are you sure this is what you want?"

He finally looked up, meeting her smile with one of his own. "_Hai_. It's just one English class, '_Kaa-san_. It will interfere with my work schedule, but it's not without its advantages. It _would_ be a good addition to my credentials…"

"No matter what you decide to do…"

Shiori enveloped her mature, sensible son in an embrace.

"… I will always be proud of you, Shuuichi."

Kurama felt a great weight suddenly lifted off his shoulders.

_Arigatou…_

He wrapped his arms around the human woman's shoulders in return.

… '_Kaa-san._

* * *

Her back and one foot leaning against the wall, Setsu took her eyes off the Minaminos, uncrossed her arms, and walked away.

_Such a gentle family._

She closed her eyes. The shadow of a smile eclipsed her lips.

_See,_ sempai_? It all worked out after all,_ ne_?_

* * *

Still holding his mother in his arms, Kurama silently watched the female figure behind the wall leave.

_Arigatou…_

He closed his eyes. The shadow of a smile eclipsed his lips.

… _Mayonaka_-san.

* * *

"Congratulations, _otouto_." The elder Shuuichi ruffled the already disheveled hair of the younger. He strode to the kitchen sink and turned on the tap. "Keep it up."

Her trusty purple toothbrush sticking out of her mouth, Setsu eyed the test paper with the grade "B+" in bright red ink tacked to the Minamino-Hatanaka freezer door with animal-shaped refrigerator magnets. "So you were exempted from remedial Physics class all summer then," she held her toothbrush still as she spoke to the groggy, grouchy boy sitting before his breakfast. "Did you have to lose so much sleep over it?"

"Hey, the all-nighter killed me, but I aced the test, didn't I?" A baggy-eyed Shuuichi spat to his cousin and shoved a pile of rice into his mouth with his overused chopsticks. "What more d' ya want? There's just no pleasing you!"

Kurama brushed his teeth while watching his extended family swinging chopsticks and a toothbrush around as though they were swords.

"Well, I would have been prouder of you if you had managed to join us for breakfast." Setsu rolled her near-empty tube of toothpaste from end to end, attempting to force out the last of its contents onto her toothbrush. "Whom do you expect will wash the dishes that _you_ used? I know very well that _you_ wouldn't do it even if your life depended on it."

"_Itoko_, no one nags like that in this house! Not even _'Kaa-san_!"

"That's exactly why _I'm_ doing it."

As she scolded away, still wagging her toothbrush in mid-air, Kurama gently took the twisted, misshapen tube from her hand and squeezed it even emptier than it already was. "Hold still, Mayonaka-_san_."

"So now would be the perfect time for you to prove me wrong—" She scraped off a drop of sparkling minty gel oozing out of her toothpaste tube. "—Oh. _Arigatou_, _sempai_." She turned back to the other Shuuichi. "And another thing…"

"What now?" Neck-deep in nagging, the irked Shuuichi plopped his juice glass onto the dining table with a loud thud.

"How could sixteen-year-old stubble possibly clog a sink?"

Now brushing his backmost molars, Kurama shot a look at the kitchen sink before them and sweat-dropped. It was their only recourse after Shuuichi had unintentionally blocked up the second floor bathroom sink when he shaved earlier this morning.

"_Heh_," Shuuichi scoffed, popping egg yolk into his mouth. "It's a _man_ thing. You wouldn't understand."

"Please," the girl rolled her eyes. "I don't even want to know just what you were shaving in the first place. Face it, _itoko_. You're all mum about that '_man_ thing' because you don't understand it yourself."

Spider veins erupted out of Shuuichi's temple, his chopsticks nearly breaking in half. "Are you attacking my manhood?"

Setsu chuckled to herself, amused with his annoyance. Just as she stuck her toothbrush inside her mouth, the other family member using the kitchen sink for lavatory purposes raised a cup to his lips and rinsed his own.

Kurama threw his head back and spat his mouthwash down the sink drain, feeling his hair being tugged behind him. He turned to his side and found Setsu holding his hair up.

She grinned impishly. "Wouldn't want your hair smelling of gargle spit, _ne_?"

"Awww. How sweet." A sarcastic, disgusted Shuuichi scowled and stuck his tongue out. "_Itoko_, I'm starting to think you like _'Nii-san_ more than you like me!"

Setsu pointed her head in Kurama's direction. "I'd do the same for you, but your hair isn't long enough. Maybe if you didn't shave so much, _ne_?"

Kurama strode past the dining table and across the room, stopping only to ruffle Shuuichi's hair once more. "_Otouto_. Be nice."

The cousins watched him climb up the stairs, the older one still brushing and the younger still scowling.

"Oh, yeah? I'm on to _you_ too, _'Nii-san_! Stop backing _itoko_ up!"

* * *

_She's grieving._

Shiori played with her eyes closed.

Sitting on a higher step in the staircase, Setsu studied the inside of Minamino Shiori's baby grand piano from above. Each time the practiced pianist depressed a key on the board, a hammer inside the harp-shaped brass frame struck a thin, fine string that vibrated and played the very tune Shiori intended to hear.

_So_ that_'s how pianos work,_ observed Setsu. _But there's something different about this one…_

"Setsuki-_chan_?"

She froze. "_Hn_?"

"Have you been listening from there?" Shiori motioned for the younger girl to come closer. "Please, join me here."

With shy reluctance, Setsu shuffled down the stairs and slowly slid onto the long stool for two before the piano, just where Shiori patted for her to sit. "You play well, _'Ba-san_."

The woman's face glowed from the compliment. "Thank you, Setsuki-_chan_!" Tenderly, she touched the polished brass surface by the keyboard. "I have been playing this ever since my father gave it to me as a child."

"Minamino-_sempai_'s maternal grandfather?" A curious eyebrow shot up. _I can't even picture him with a human grandfather._

Shiori nodded. "But he died before Shuuichi was born."

Setsu hung her head low. "_Mengo_."

The older woman blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I mean _gomen_. _Gomen nasai_. I'm sorry to hear of your loss." Setsu knuckled her own temple lightly. _Ame_-kun _was right—I really_ should _watch my mouth._

Shiori took Setsu's hand from the girl's lap and clasped it in her own. "You know how it feels too, don't you? To lose a parent too soon…"

Sandy brown forelocks suddenly hid cold blue eyes. "_Hai_."

"I was unable to tell my father a lot of things," Shiori looked up, her eyes lost, distant. "He never knew I've always dreamed of becoming a musical performer. He just wanted me to graduate with good grades and marry a proper husband."

_Sounds like_ someone _I know._ "He reminds me of my own father," Setsu chuckled lightly. "I'm sure that he meant well, _'Ba-san_. His wishes may not have been what you wanted, but he had your best interests in mind."

_That reminds me…_

"Yes," Shiori's gaze lowered and met hers. Her lips smiled along with her eyes. "You're right."

"This piano…"

"What is it?"

"It looks like a piano, but sounds like an organ," Setsu pointed out. "I noticed that you could play some keys longer than others, which is possible with an organ but not a piano. _Ne_?"

A light laugh escaped Shiori's lips. "Yes, that _is_ the nice thing about this piano—it could play like an organ, too!" She spread her fingers atop the keyboard and played the same melody of mourning as before. "How observant of you, Setsuki-_chan_!"

_But your song,_ 'Ba-san. _It's so peaceful… sorrowful. A song of pain._ "_'Ba-san_, did you compose that yourself?"

"Yes," Shiori continued playing, her eyes closing on their own. "When I play this, it reminds me of all the things I was never able to tell my father. I play it for him to hear from heaven."

_How romantic._ "So you need not sing any lyrics aloud, because he already knows them by now…?"

"The truth is, I don't know how to write lyrics." Kurama's human mother laughed to herself.

A smile played upon Setsu's lips. "This time, you remind me of my friend, Nami-_chan_." She beheld those graceful, nimble fingers sliding through the scales. "She aspires to become a singer, too. But she has such a hard time composing lyrics that she tells me she's interested only in a man with a flair for words. She trusts that he could be a good lyricist to her future songs."

Shiori stopped playing and giggled softly, her fingers lightly touching her lips. "Your friend does sound like me! But how about you, Setsuki-_chan_?"

_Hn?_ Setsu blinked. "What about me, _'Ba-san_?"

"What kind of man interests _you_?"

* * *

Green eyes fondly gazed upon the two dark-haired women with blue eyes chatting away by the baby grand piano.

_They really do resemble each other._ A smile threatened to curl Kurama's lips. A faraway memory flickered in his mind.

"_During my first ultrasound, the doctor told me to expect a baby girl." A soft giggle escaped her lips. "I did expect, but she was wrong. But don't worry! I'm still very happy to have a son! Especially one as special as_ you_!"_

_Mayonaka_-san _must see her mother in you,_ 'Kaa-san. _Do you see in her…_

He closed his eyes.

… _the human daughter you should have had…?_

* * *

The sun was too high, the air too dry. Crickets chirped in time with the rippling of a delusional heat wave. Was he just hallucinating from the heat, or was all of reality truly bending, undulating before his eyes?

"AAAAAH! _AAATSUIIIII!_" He moaned loudly in protest to the sweltering heat of that summer's morning. Flapping the collar of his sleeveless white jersey to fan himself, he stepped out into the family garden. "Now where's that hose?"

Standing a few meters before the lush shrubbery of Shiori's garden, a dehydrated Setsu aimed the long green water hose at the plants, plugging the hole with her thumb to cover more greenery at a time.

"_Oi_, _itoko_!" The sweaty boy trudged over to her. "Gimme that hose for a minute! The sprinklers can do that!"

A glaze of sweat taking shape by the circles under her eyes, the girl in the baggy T-shirt neither turned her head nor met his eyes. "_Iie_. I see Shiori-_'ba-san_ watering these on her own. And I don't know where the sprinklers are. If you need to cool down so badly, why don't you take a real bath?"

"But in this heat, the water in the shower's too _cold_! You want me to get sick?"

Setsu shook her head to herself. "The weather's too hot, but the water's too cold. Can't you just strike a happy balance, Shuuichi?" She sprayed at another row of bushes. "Besides, water is water whether from the bathroom or the hose. Think about it, _onegai_."

"But the showerhead's always indoors, so it's cold!" groaned Shuuichi, ignoring her eyebrow now cocking up. "As for that hose, it's been out here in the heat all day, so it shouldn't be so cold!"

_Could that even possibly make sense?_ "_Itoko_, I don't believe that heat conduction and insulation work that way."

"Stop throwing Physics at me!" Shuuichi snatched the hose from her grip. "I've had enough of it in school!"

"All I'm saying is that an actual bath would do you a lot better than just soaking yourself with your clothes on." She grabbed the hose back.

"And all _I'm_ saying is it _won't_! Let—" He gritted his teeth and yanked the tail of the hosepipe, but she held on to its neck tightly, relentlessly. "—go!"

"_Ne_, guess what? We're wasting water."

She sighed.

"If you want it so much, then here you go."

When she released the watering hose from her clutches, it flailed out of his control and spewed right into his face.

Setsu blinked and shrugged. "Well, you asked for it."

"Did you wanna _drown_ me?" His entire being now soaked in both sweat and water, a mischievously grinning Shuuichi pointed the hose at her and cried, "Here's a taste of your own medicine!"

The rowdy voices from outside calling his attention, Kurama followed them into the garden, an open book in his hand. The cousins were running across the grass, headed straight for him.

"_Otouto_, Mayonaka-_san_—"

PSSSSSHHHHHT!

Kurama's eyes widened and looked down to discover that he had just been hosed down.

Setsu suddenly froze, her face contorted into a sour, awful, eye-twitching mess. She could not even dare point it out—or point at it.

_Mi… na… mi… no…_ sem… pai…

Shuuichi skidded to a halt right behind the now motionless Setsu. "What did I hit?"

_Oh, just see for yourself!_

A heavy stain dripped from between the older Shuuichi's legs.

"OOPS!" Multiple sweat-drops drenched the younger Shuuichi even more than he already was. "SORRY, _'NII-SAN_!"

"_Minna-san_, what's going on there?"

"'_Kaa-san_!" The two Shuuichis exclaimed all at once.

_How inappropriate!_ No one _should see him with a wet—!_ Setsu stole the garden hose from Shuuichi—"_Mengo_, _sempai!_"—and sloshed Kurama from head to toe.

Shiori walked in on them and found three wringing wet teenagers, their forelocks falling all over their faces and their shirts closely sticking to their skins.

"_Ara_!" The mother of the household clapped a hand onto her own cheek. "What happened?"

Shuuichi rubbed the back of his head in sheepish apology, laughing uneasily. "We were just watering your plants, '_Kaa-san_!"

_What do you mean "we"?_ "But somewhere along the way, we watered _ourselves_." Setsu knuckled her own forehead.

"_Daijoubu_, '_Kaa-san_. No one got hurt." Kurama's eyes were closed, his arms folded across his chest. Suddenly he exuded the air of maturity missing from the two—he held himself responsible for their water game gone wrong. "I was about to take a shower anyway."

"So was I," nodded Setsu, more water still gushing out of the hose in her hand.

Shuuichi blinked at his elders and resignedly joined in. "M-Me too!"

_You were not._ Setsu rolled her eyes to herself.

"Oh, is that so?" A laugh tempted to escape Shiori's lips. "I appreciate all your help, then! And I'm glad to know you kids are having fun."

Just as she turned her back on them, Kurama whirled to face his younger peers.

* * *

Kurama was already parting his lips to speak when Setsu bowed her head before him, damp brown locks drooping in between her eyes. "_Mengo_ again, _sempai_. We've roughhoused enough, I know." She wandered into the garden in search of the faucet to which the hose was connected. "Now where was that faucet again?"

Shuuichi hobbled back into the house, pulling his jersey over his head and off his shoulders. "By the rose bushes," he called out to the houseguest yet unfamiliar with their home. "I think."

_Rose bushes…_ Kurama looked past his soaked forelocks, towards the girl distancing from him. _But she shouldn't get too close to those…!_ His legs broke into a mad dash on their own. "Mayonaka-_san_, mind the sprinklers underfoot—"

Too late.

"Where—" No later than Setsu glanced over at him did she trip over one of them.

Kurama seized her by her shoulders just as she stumbled right into him.

The two of them collapsed onto a bed of newly watered grass, Kurama landing on his back, Setsu toppling over him on her stomach. Her right hand still clutching the hose, her left cupped the back of his head, cushioning his head from the ground. His whole body had buffered her fall. Water endlessly flowed from their gardening hose, slowly but surely pooling into a muddy puddle to his left.

* * *

Her cheek pressed against a wet but nonetheless warm chest, her left arm curled round his head, and his head lightly cradled upon her left hand. Blinking once, twice, Setsu suddenly noticed his soaking wet polo shirt clinging onto a smooth, slender contour of rib muscle like second skin. Was that small nub standing out from his chest his…?

She bit her lip and gulped.

_Darn it, he's…_

Blue eyes instantly darted away from the secret beneath his see-through shirt.

_Don't even_ think _about it!_

"Minamino-_sempai_…" She caught herself speaking slowly, her voice coming out in a husky whisper even lower and mellower than usual. "Are you…?"

Kurama winced from underneath her. "_H… Hai_," he murmured just as slowly, slightly shifting his weight to his right to inch away from the water seeping into his left shoulder and backside. "You…?"

Setsu finally let go of the hose and collected all her strength into her right hand, hoisting herself off him while still bracing the back of his head with her left. "I'm fine—"

_Nani?_

She could not get off him.

He would not let go.

* * *

His arms, clapped onto her shoulders as they fell to the ground, were now wrapped around them.

Kurama's palms rested upon bony shoulder blades, his lower lip barely grazing a messy, hair-strewn forehead. A thin white shoulder strap showed through her wet shirtsleeve.

_This…_

That lanky, awkward frame sprawled atop him did not weigh down on him at all. But something about their current stance felt… strange. Troubling.

_When did this… happen before…?_

"_Sempai_." He heard the urgency in her voice. "Can you stand?"

Kurama snapped back to reality. "_Aa_." He took his hands off her back, lifting his head up for her to be able to move her left hand again. "You shouldn't always trust the earth you stand on, Mayonaka-_san_. Sometimes it can betray you."

Setsu refused to let go of the back of his head. She raised it up for him as he rose to his feet. "_Iie_. I was careless—I didn't watch where I was going. You could say that I hadn't _earned_ its trust yet."

She brushed crusty cakes of mud off her jeans and turned her back on him to pick up the hose, unaware that the hedges she just faced were rose shrubs. "Now this _really_ calls for a bath—"

"Mayonaka-_san_, don't smell the—"

Too late.

"ATCHOO!"

* * *

Was an animal dying in there?

Shiori could hear the stereo blaring in Shuuichi's room all the way from the kitchen; Kurama an even longer way from the car.

A ring of keys in his hand and a sudsy sponge in hers, both biological mother and son rapped upon Shuuichi's bedroom door. Kurama turned the knob to find the budding musician with his eyes closed, wildly strumming an air guitar in time with the thrums of the electric guitar in the rock instrumental booming from his music player.

As Shuuichi's playing arm thrashed and flailed against his imaginary instrument with neither shame nor a care in the world, Kurama was already parting his lips to speak when he felt a warm, gentle hand clapping onto his shoulder.

He whirled to face Shiori, who shook her head, giggling softly. She pointed inside his own room, where their houseguest also closed her eyes and lost herself in her own little world—sitting on the rolling office chair before Kurama's desk with her legs apart while playing invisible drums, even stepping on a fictional bass drum pedal with her rhythmically tapping foot.

Kurama found himself basking in a most uninhibited Setsu treating his study table like a whole row of drums, striking the ideal drum to each thump in Shuuichi's lyric-less, no-vocals song. Its drumbeat followed a frenzied, much faster tempo than that of the song she had attempted—and failed—to play in the game center a few days ago, yet she kept pace with it masterfully… perfectly.

Was that faint, near-unnoticeable bobbing of her head to the beat actually her way of… head-banging? Dancing?

Shiori could not help herself any longer. Gracious as ever, she laughed quietly at the sight of it all, raising her sponge near her lips to hide them. "Shuuichi, she should play Shuuichi-_kun_'s old drum set for us. It's still in our storage room."

Kurama regarded his human mother silently.

_She's come to like her._

* * *

The stoplight turned red.

Kurama stepped on the brake.

"_Hiei." With his usual stealth and grace, Kurama bounded out his bedroom window and onto the tree branch his demon comrade always slept in when the_ jaganshi _found himself in the mood for fresh_ Ningenkai _air. "Were you already in_ Ningenkai _last night?"_

"_You're weaker than ever, Kurama," scowled the demon in the black robe. "How many more times must I say it? These worthless_ ningen _you show so much mercy to will be your downfall!"_

"_I see you two have met." His arms folded across his chest, Kurama closed his eyes. "So last night was real, then."_

"_You shouldn't even be alive by now."_

_A smile curled Kurama's lips. "By some miracle, it's like I didn't shed a drop of blood at all." He opened his eyes and turned to his unexpressive friend. "But_ you _sustained damage."_

"_Hmph." It was Hiei's turn to cross his arms before his chest and close his eyes. He knew better than to look Kurama in the eye just when the_ kitsune _was either about to make a point or remind him of his own vulnerability. Or both._

_Kurama leaned towards his friend's forehead, studying the_ jagan _now no longer beneath its usual blindfold. The lids of the demonic eye remained half open despite its master's will. A thick film of fluid coated the half-lidded_ jagan_._

_A human hand inched closer to the strained, inflamed eye. Closer. Closer. But not close enough to touch._

"_Did she do this to you, Hiei?"_

"_That's ridiculous!" cried the insulted warrior, shoving the hand away with no remorse. "Impossible! No_ ningen _can even lay_ a finger _on me!"_

"_I wonder what she has against you."_

"Tch!" _Hiei harrumphed again. Saliva was wasted on Kurama. No amount of talk could ever convince him of something he regarded with certainty. "You're a fool, Kurama. Keeping your enemies too close instead of simply finishing them off!"_

_Kurama stared past the first floor window of his own home, upon the three humans now gathering at the dining table for their supper._

"_A human home is no place for needless bloodshed." His brows furrowed. "So far, she has been no threat to my family. In a human court of law, she is deemed innocent until proven guilty."_

"_You haven't changed at all," scoffed the small demon. "You_ still _have that rotten habit of stalling until it's too late!"_

"_I have never let down my guard, Hiei." A human fist clenched tightly. "Not even under my own roof."_

_Suddenly, a bandaged demon hand pointed past the house window. "Those eyes."_

_Kurama gazed upon those glassy blue orbs glaringly standing out even from afar._

"_They've seen more deaths than yours."_

Kurama glanced at the rearview mirror, checking on the passengers sitting on the backseat of their family Toyota. Shuuichi had fallen fast asleep, snoring while digging his cheek deeper into Setsu's shoulder.

Cold, blank blue eyes gazed out the car window, glittering amidst the moonlight.

_You're wrong, Hiei._

The stoplight turned green.

_They've seen more than_ ours.

* * *

His elbow propped up on his long wooden counter and his chin resting on his palm, Yusuke idly flipped another page of his racy magazine. A runaway tear trickling down a bored, sleepy eye, he yawned loudly, stretching out his arm to scratch that pesky mosquito bite on his back.

He snapped his glossy centerfold shut and heaved a long sigh. "Looks like I oughta pack up for tonight."

No later had the words dropped from his lips did an old gray Toyota pull up before his ramen stand.

"Hel-lo," he chimed melodiously, more to himself than to the passengers still inside the four-door auto. "Who do we have 'ere?"

One rear door unlocked and swung open. A sports sneaker stained with a splash of acrylic paint stepped out of the town car. Yusuke had seen that shoe before. Come to think of it, even those faded jeans looked familiar!

_Too_ familiar.

"Well, well, well," scoffed a suddenly arrogant ramen peddler. "Look who's finally thrown out that screamin' metal deathtrap of a bike she used t' have!"

"But I still have it," said Setsu coolly just as the door to the driver's seat swiveled open as well.

A wide-eyed, jaw-dropped Yusuke froze as he watched Kurama taking his hand off the wheel and unbuckling his seatbelt.

"You two just never run outta ways t' mess wit' my head, don'tcha?"

* * *

"_ITADAKIMAAASU!_" cried the more outspoken Hatanaka Kazuyu and Shuuichi together, passionately splitting their respective wooden chopsticks into two.

"_Itadakimasu_," murmured the more soft-spoken Minamino Shiori and Shuuichi, also splitting their wooden chopsticks into two, but more gently.

"_Itadaki_." Setsu said flatly, holding up two graphite pencils instead of chopsticks.

As the four members of the Minamino-Hatanaka family partook of their newly cooked ramen—meaty _char-sieu men_ for the man, healthy _moyashi_ for his wife, greasy _gomoku_ for the younger son, and plain and simple _miso_ for the elder—their guest pressed her pencil against paper and went straight to work.

"_That_'s right, bitch." His back turned on them, a secretly snickering Yusuke muttered low under his breath. He eyed the long cord hanging atop his stand, particularly the lone drawing attached to the line with two clothespins. "It's _about time_ ya finished that menu y' started!"

"Is something the matter, Yusuke-_kun_?"

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Did Kurama's family hear all that? "N-N-Nothing's wrong, Minamino-_san_!" He whirled to face them and waved his hands dismissively before the curious Shiori. "I mean Hatanaka-_san_! Whatever name yer goin' with now!"

As the woman blinked and softly giggled to herself, her husband and stepson took (excruciating) pains to slow themselves down, tilting their bowls to show their ingredients to their preoccupied houseguest every now and then. They had all agreed to the plan—she would draw the contents of their respective ramen as they ate, but they themselves would color the finished sketch of the very ramen they had just consumed to give her time off to eat as well.

An uneasy Yusuke scratched the tip of his nose. "By the way, I'm _really_ sorry I missed yer wedding." He rubbed the back of his neck in apology. "Kura—I mean Shuuichi!—went t' all the trouble of invitin' me, but I jus' couldn't go."

"That's all right, Yusuke-_kun_." Shiori smiled sweetly at the young man who had cooked their family meal for that night. "We understand."

A blush crept up Yusuke's cheeks. Damn, Kurama's mother was _waaaaay_ nicer than his! She didn't even drink! She must be a saint! "You're too kind, Ma'am!" He held his hands up in self-conscious respect. "But I saw the pictures. It was the _bomb_!"

As Yusuke laughed to himself, Kazuyu swallowed a bite of the boy's _char-sieu men_ before speaking up. "Were you in school at that time?"

"I—" Yusuke's face crumpled in confusion. He couldn't possibly tell them that he was in _Makai_ back then! Would they ever believe he was constantly on the brink of certain death in an entirely different world, barely surviving all that grueling, death-defying training day in and day out with the help of Hokushin and those other bald monk guys under the dictatorial rule of his ancestral father, the then _Toushin_ Raizen? "I was—"

"He was out of town, '_Tou-san_." Kurama answered for him calmly, taking a sip of his soup. _It's true. He wasn't merely out of "town," though. But it's still true._

"On a business meeting, I believe," mumbled Setsu as she sketched away.

A question mark suddenly popped above Yusuke's head. "'Business meeting'?"

"Well, you _did_ once tell me that before you became a food peddler, you—"

"Explored other interests," Kurama finished for her as a panic-struck Yusuke clamped both hands onto her mouth.

The ramen chef's palms muffled her next words. "Unhand me before I bite you."

_Come on, you two. Not now!_ Kurama glanced at the two mortal enemies then turned to his parents. "_'Tou-san_, _'Kaa-san_, may I speak with Yusuke in private?"

As soon as they expressed their approval, Kurama bowed his head and dragged Yusuke away before he strangled Setsu senseless.

The Minamino-Hatanaka town car now separating them from the Urameshi ramen stand, Kurama clapped a hand on Yusuke's shoulder and spoke in a husky whisper. "Yusuke, does she know you were once a _Reikai Tantei_?"

"Beats me," shrugged Yusuke, spider veins pulsing in his forehead from the mere memory of that bitch he so despised. "I never told 'er, but she sure had me goin' there for a sec!"

"I think she knows. About all of us."

Yusuke's eyes nearly lolled out of their sockets. "_Nani_? But how—"

"That's precisely what I've been trying to figure out all this time, Yusuke."

"So you _weren't_ jus' stalkin' 'er for the heck of it—"

Yusuke froze. Those ruthless green eyes before him said it all. One more word and the next time he blinks, he will find himself in dire need of a third resurrection. Sheesh. As if two weren't bad enough.

Kurama eyed the four humans sitting together in a row before Yusuke's counter. The family guest busily penciled in one kind of ramen after another, darting peeks and glances at the bowls to note the differences in their ingredients.

"You should thank her, Yusuke. Not only did she introduce your ramen to my family; she is even making your entire menu for you as we speak."

"_Ehhh_?" The immature young man groaned. "Do I _have_ to?"

"That is up to you." The older human-demon turned to face the younger. "She may be on to us, but she has not exposed us to all of _Ningenkai_."

"Not _yet_!"

"True," Kurama nodded. "_Shikashi_, throughout the week she has spent with my family, she has given me no reason not to trust her with them. Perhaps I _should_ give her the benefit of the doubt." He paused. "But just how much?"

As the taller young man closed his eyes, the shorter one stroked an imaginary beard in thought. "Y' know what _I_ think, Kurama?"

"_Nani_?"

"You might say y' think about 'er 'cause she's up t' no good. But _I_ think you ain't _that_ suspicious of 'er!" Yusuke pointed out, even wagging his finger for emphasis. "_Not anymore_, anyway!"

_I think I know where you're leading to._

"I'd say you're kinda _interested_ in 'er!"

Kurama sighed to himself. _Just as I thought. How did you come to this conclusion again? I should have known better than to humor you any more than I already have._ "Yusuke—"

"Think fast, Kurama! Do y' _hate_ 'er?"

"_Jitsu wa_—"

Suddenly cupping his hands around his mouth, Yusuke mimicked the blast of a game show buzzer. "Time's up! See? If y' _can't_ straight out say y' hate 'er, then maybe ya… Know what I'm sayin'?"

The older demon-human shook his head. "She is already seeing the Sniper, Yusuke."

The younger snapped.

"_That_ ugly loser? What's so great about _him_?" he spat in disgust, not so fondly recalling that devilishly handsome teenage boy who had very nearly taken his life had Hiei not saved him in the nick of time. "But that's not the point, Kurama! So she's taken. In a twosome. _Occupado_. Why should that stop ya? Those 'third wheels' do it all the time! Why d' ya think the term 'home wrecker' is catchin' on these days?"

"_Ne_."

Both human-demons froze.

"I hope you don't mind, Urameshi, but I'd appreciate you cooking _my_ order right about now."

Yusuke whirled to face his most unwanted intruder of all. Hey… she sounded politer than usual! But just how much of his "love advice" to Kurama did she hear?

"But I _do_ mind!" grumbled Yusuke. "We're in the middle of somethin' 'ere—"

Setsu refused to let him finish. "_Shoyu_ ramen, as usual. Still two orders, one here and the other to go. Make mine spicy. And reheat _sempai_'s ramen as well, _onegai_. It's cold now."

Nope, it was too good to be true after all. She still _was_ the obnoxious ox she'd always been.

"Two orders, huh? Aren't we hungry today?"

"Shut up and cook."

The veins in his head throbbing all the more, Yusuke stomped back to his stall with clenched fists and gritted teeth, muttering a long string of profanities under his breath. "If I didn't owe ya big time, I'd—!"

Kurama turned his attention back to his family, all hunched over on the counter and coloring Setsu's ramen drawings.

"Setsuki-_chan_, may I use this color on the spiral part of the fishcake?" An excited Shiori held up a pink pencil.

Having more fun than he would willingly admit, Kazuyu brandished a chocolate brown-colored one. "How about this for the pork broth?"

"_Un_." A shyly smiling Setsu nodded to both her elders. "Those look right to me."

A bloated Shuuichi moaned. "I can't do this! I don't remember the colors of all the stuff I ate! I just _ate_ them!"

As the rest of his family laughed together, beneath Kurama's smile was yet another whirlwind of questions.

_Was Yusuke just being his usual self, or could he possibly have a…?_

A fist clenched in secret.

_No. Impossible._

_I should know myself better than anyone else._

Green eyes studied the slouched back waiting for two orders of _shoyu_ ramen.

_Why two? For whom could the other one be?_

* * *

Even on the living room couch back home, the now soundly sleeping Shuuichi still dug his chin deeper and deeper into Setsu's shoulder.

_He really shouldn't sleep right after eating._ Setsu smiled and shook her head to herself, sweeping her cousin's forelocks to one side in a most unusual display of gentleness._ He'll get either nightmares or indigestion._

"_In the local news,"_ declared the newscaster on TV. _"A longtime surgeon admits his own malpractice as the cause of death of his five-year-old patient!"_

His legs crossed, Kurama looked up from his file folder. Shiori momentarily stopped ironing the collar of a polo shirt. Shuuichi snored even more loudly than before. Kazuyu pushed his eyeglasses up his nose and raised the volume of their television set with its remote control. A lump caught in Setsu's throat.

A man in a white coat struggled to speak before the camera. _"I… I am so sorry! I… I didn't know what I was doing…! All of a sudden, I just… couldn't think! I couldn't think of what to do… what to do first, what to do next… Nothing! My mind just… went blank!"_ He buried his face in his hands. _"I'm sorry! I didn't mean for her to die! I just didn't come to my right senses in time!"_

"_Ara_," gasped Shiori, adjusting the thermostat knob of her flat iron. "I feel so sorry for him."

"_Sir,"_ began the news reporter, already poised to hand her microphone to the direly distressed doctor. _"Is it true that you've been practicing your profession for more than thirty years?"_

"_Yes!"_ cried the hysterical interviewee. _"And tumors are my line of specialization! So it came as a great shock to me that I suddenly didn't know how to go about it! This—this isn't like me at all! I don't just black out! I don't experience mental blocks!"_

"The pressure must have gotten to him." Kazuyu took his eyes off the TV screen and turned back to his evening paper.

"_I'm sorry! I am so sorry!"_ The surgeon bowed his head to all the viewers of the local nightly news. _"I take full responsibility for what happened to my patient! I accept her family's charges against me!"_

"An unfortunate loss," said Kurama to no one in particular, flipping to the second page of his records. "_Shikashi_, losing a life is all in a day's work to a doctor."

Setsu nodded. "To have so many lives entrusted to your hands…"

Her voice trailed off.

Cold, glassy blue eyes welled up in silent fear.

_That has nothing to do with me._

Her front teeth sank into her lower lip.

_Nothing!_

"'_Ji-san_, '_Ba-san_, may I go out for some fresh air? I won't take too long or stray too far."

* * *

She stuffed a plastic bag tightly tied into a ball and bursting at its seams into the side pocket of her hooded jacket and stepped out into the night.

Setsu tilted her head and eyes up at the loftiest tree in the Minamino garden. That black cloak—it was there again, flapping with the wind. It had come to stay for one more night.

_Only with you is he truly at peace._

A calloused fist clenched in secret.

_You're not making it any easier for me to like you, Hiei._

She closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, lying before her eyes was the very wearer of the black cloak, his legs stretched out across the length of the branch in which they both hid, his back reclined against the trunk of the tree, and his arms folded behind his head, serving as his pillow.

"_Ne_—"

A gasp caught in Hiei's throat. Faster than the blink of an eye, he was already on his feet, his hands poised to draw his sword from its sheath. Just when could he ever have a minute all to himself? If it wasn't Kurama disrupting his sleep, it was his… his… whatever this petty creature was to him! If this was already _Ningenkai_ at its so-called most "peaceful," then why must he remain on his guard at all times and at all costs?

"—_youkai_."

Hiei's eyes narrowed ominously. She knew he wasn't human!

Then again, so what? He couldn't care less.

"Hmph. Waste of time."

He turned his back on her, his feet already raring to flit away into the dark midsummer night, when that low, mellow voice somehow managed to rob him of his ears.

"Leave, and I will believe that you are _afraid_ of me."

_Afraid_? Him? Apparently she didn't know the first thing about him after all.

"Tch." The _jaganshi_ spat to the side, blood red eyes threatening to take her life.

Setsu suddenly felt a razor-sharp blade pinned close—too close—to her throat.

Steel blue eyes speared through blood red. The two nonhumans exchanged mutually merciless glares, neither flinching an inch.

"The braver your front, all the more I believe that you really _are_ afraid," snapped a snide Setsu. "But very well. Keep pointing that at me. At least that assures me that you're still here."

That damned tongue. Those demonic eyes. That putrid human stench. That useless existence. She annoyed him! And he's staying _not_ because she told him to—foolish _ningen_!

"What do you want?" growled Hiei between gritted teeth.

"_Iie_." She shook her head as she jammed her hand inside her bulging jacket pocket and pulled out the plastic ball. "Actually, _I_ have something for _you_."

No later than she tossed the transparent orb towards him did he slash it in half. An oily brown liquid splashed onto their feet and down the tree branch just as a tangled knot of curly flour noodles broke apart and flew in all directions. A split second after the bright white flash of swinging blade, the sword needled her neck once more.

"_Hn_." A frown crossed her face. "Did you mistakenly believe that that was a weapon, a bomb, or a trap?" She heaved a heavy sigh. "Too bad. Your ex-_Reikai Tantei_ friend cooked that. I just thought that you've never tried his ramen before. It's really good—but don't tell him I said so, _onegai_."

So she knows about Urameshi as well! Eyes of blood widened too quickly for even the trained _youkai_ to perceive. Hiei harrumphed again, kicking the wet off his shoe. "Don't get too comfortable with me, _ningen_. You won't live long enough to regret it."

"But I regret it already, yet I'm still alive."

She felt the tip of his sword pricking deeper into her throat. One more push and he would either cut all her vocal cords or have her head for himself.

"How do you live with it, _youkai_?"

Blood red eyes narrowed even more. Before anything else, he would have that infernal tongue.

"How do you live with yourself—to get what you asked for, but never have what you wanted?"

She closed her eyes, bit her lip, and hung her head low, consciously nearing her chin to the life-threatening blade.

"I must learn how you live with it, _youkai_. Each day I live, I tolerate less and less of it!"

Hiei heard it: the untimely, unintended crack in her cry. Choking on her own words! Pathetic.

"I'll take that as a death wish."

"Keep an eye on that _jagan_," Setsu pointed at the smack middle of his forehead, still managing to chuckle at the pun she had just mentioned even in the face of death. "You never know who or what could want it for itself."

"_Nani_?" Hiei heard himself utter from outside himself. Who could possibly want to take his _jagan_? And what just happened? Who is this _ningen_ standing before him now? When—why—how!—did her hair grow out and darken as black as his own? Those cold, wicked eyes—now violet!

"Let's try it again, _ne_?"

Suddenly the noodles, meat and vegetable strips, and soup that had scattered around them all took to the air and floated back together, forming a coagulated ball of _shoyu_ ramen. The plastic bag that had been sliced in half magically pieced back into the tight ball that it once was.

"Dispose of it as you please. You're welcome."

With that, the girl now with long, flowing turquoise hair and blood red eyes leapt off the tree branch.

Where did she go? Even with his _jagan_, Hiei could not see.

He did not know _which one_ of her to seek.

Then again, he just didn't care.

Good riddance.

Snorting the mere thought of that insufferable psychic _ningen_ out of his life, a most indifferent, ungrateful Hiei bit off one pointed corner of the plastic bag in his hand, spat the ripped piece of plastic away, and emptied the soup spilling out of the bag right into his mouth.

* * *

Restless.

That night, Kurama was just that.

Restlessness was not merely the experience of deprivation of respite or sleep. It was a medical condition. The illness of finding oneself utterly unable to just relax.

It was more than a discomfort. To the chronic restless, it was a tragedy.

His mind gave him no rest. No peace. It wouldn't let him sleep.

_So close, yet so far away!_

The unrest disquieted him. Why can't he just get this over with? Done? Case closed—cracked—solved? He could just wake her up and demand the whole truth!

But no. _Ningen_ or not, Mayonaka-_san_ had a long day. She needed her sleep, just like everyone else.

It just wouldn't be right.

As soundlessly as he could, Kurama padded off the bottommost step of the staircase and into the kitchen. Fetching his usual mug from the dishwasher, he tugged the refrigerator door handle and brought out a pitcher of ice cold water. He poured himself a glass, his eyes trailing the long, bright streak of light that the bulb in the fridge cast across the dining table.

A gasp caught in his throat just as he swallowed his drink.

_There she is._

At the end of the beam of light was none other than the cause of his unrest, her cheek slumped onto the hardwood table, her lips slightly parted. A chuckle of denied amusement—or amused denial—escaping his own, Kurama returned the water pitcher and mug to their respective holders and stole closer to the soundly sleeping form.

_Why didn't she just stay in my room?_

Both her arms were sprawled across the table, curling around several sheets of plain white paper, a rainbow of colored pencils, and their box.

_How territorial_, he commented to himself upon observing the manner in which her possessions were all located within the virtual circle formed by her arms.

That clear, viscous fluid dribbling off her mouth and pooling onto an unused page… Was she…

… drooling?

Kurama blinked once, twice. How could such a guarded _ningen_ sleep with this much carefree abandon?

A green gaze then settled on another piece of paper, this time boasting of a sketch in full color. He froze.

_Mayonaka_-san, _you_…

And as soundlessly as he came, he bounded up the stairs and into his own room, looking for that long green thing he had stashed away for safekeeping for three months now.

* * *

Something was tickling her nose.

A barely conscious Setsu cracked one eyelid open to find the stitched hems of a long, thin cloth right by her cheek. She shifted in her seat and felt it—the same light fabric draped over both her shoulders.

An exhausted, lifeless right hand slid across the polished hardwood table and clapped onto a left shoulder blade, yanking the robe-like material off a slouched back.

A blanket.

_Hn?_ Her other eyelid instantly flew open. _Was someone else here?_

A blue gaze then settled on another new object in between her left pointer and thumb. She froze.

_My missing pencil!_

Now wide open and fully awake, blue eyes stared at the near-brand new, still perfectly sharpened green pencil now finally in its true owner's drawing hand after a three-month long disappearance.

_I thought that I had lost it for good…!_

Giving her mysteriously recovered pencil a tight grip, Setsu eyed the family portrait before her on the table. Kazuyu-_'ji-san_, Shiori-_'ba-san_, and _itoko_ were all colored now. All she still had to shade in were _sempai_'s eyes.

Now she could finally use the right shade of green.

Setsu closed her eyes.

_Oyasumi, Minamino_-sempai.

* * *

He still wasn't sleepy. But now he felt like retiring to bed.

A hand glided up the staircase banister and turned a doorknob on the second floor.

Kurama closed his eyes.

_Oyasumi nasai, Mayonaka_-san.

* * *

"_Nya~_"

Absently nibbling on the end of a paintbrush, Setsu dabbed a spot of yellow ochre paint onto her canvas with her pointer and middle fingertips. The newspapers spread across the carpeted floor of Kurama's bedroom crunched under her feet.

"_Nyaaa~_"

Her eyebrow twitched.

"_Nyaaaaaw~!_"

"Where could that cat be?" Shaking her head to herself, a distracted, frustrated Setsu closed her eyes, concentrating on tracing the source of the feline's mews. _I didn't even know that_ sempai _took care of one._

Playful claws scratched the wall beneath the sliding glass window.

_It's_ outside _the room?_ Curious blue eyes blinked. Still gnawing the tip of her paintbrush, Setsu opened the window and peered down.

"Kurama!" cried the comically whiskered _chibi_ creature hiding right outside his window, curling up her human-looking fingers into loose balls to resemble cute kitten paws. "_Surpriiise_~!"

The human-feline hybrid opened its big, cat-like lilac eyes, only to trade stunned gazes with Setsu.

"Wait a second!" A hand suddenly poked out of a long, oversized kimono sleeve and pointed an accusatory finger at the stranger in Kurama's room. "You're not Kurama!"

Setsu eyed the mysterious, light blue-haired teenage girl in an old-fashioned carnation pink kimono comfortably perched on a long wooden rowboat oar. Had she not been floating in mid-air, the otherworldly being could convincingly pass off as a human.

But Setsu knew better.

"I know," she chuckled at the feisty visitor's comment. "He won't be back from his office until tonight. But I could make a good answering machine." She grinned at the flying deity, dimples shyly revealing themselves on the corners of her cheeks. "Would you like to leave a message for him with me—"

The ferry-girl blinked once, twice. Wasn't this human girl in Kurama's bedroom the least bit scared—or curious—of her at all?

"—Botan-_sama_?"

* * *

Kurama punched out of the office Bundy clock.

"But why do you have to leave so soon, Minamino-_sama_?" cried the young woman in the wine red pencil skirt and stiletto heels not so comfortably striding alongside him.

"Just complying with a client's contract."

He stepped out of the department room.

* * *

"_EEEHHHHH_?" A most startled Botan almost fell off her oar. "How'd you know my name?"

"Of course I know you, Botan-_sama_," Setsu repeated on purpose, stepping closer to the window ledge and leaning forward, towards the entity hovering right outside the window. "You were the one who fetched me—"

"W-What are you talking about?" stammered the reaper loudly, laughing uncomfortably. "Who is this 'Botan' of whom you speak?"

Setsu cocked a knowing eyebrow.

Even more nervous than before, Botan pressed her pointer fingertips together repeatedly, swallowing a gulp. "But—but—you shouldn't know me! Even if we've met before, you're not supposed to remember!"

_I know that I'm not_ supposed to, Setsu told her silently. _But I do. I can't help it._

"In fact, you shouldn't even see me right now!"

"But I do, _ne_?" Setsu shrugged. "Now that _that_'s settled, what exactly should I tell Minamino-_sempai_?"

Never in all her centuries as a reaper had Botan encountered a living _ningen_ who could see her—and even intelligibly communicate with her!—without her first having to either possess a _ningen_ body or resort to telepathy. Who _was_ this "friend" of Kurama's? A reincarnation of another _ningen_ who had retained full memories of her past life—and even death? Another _youkai_? A half_-youkai_, half-_ningen_ just like him? Why was she in Kurama's bedroom? And if she was perfectly aware that he was "Kurama" in the first place, why did she still address him as "Minamino-_sempai_"?

Light lilac eyes darted up, lost in thought. Botan dug a delicate finger into her own chin. "What to do, what to do—!" the panicking ferry-girl mumbled to herself. Suddenly her mind hatched an idea. "BINGO!" she cried, pounding her fist into her palm. "You can just tell him you saw a cute little cat by the window!" For the second time, she curled up her fingers to form kitten paws and held them up by her chest, even pretending to claw at the air for emphasis. "_Nyaaaaa_~!"

"Really?" Setsu's raised eyebrow did not budge an inch. "Last I checked, cats can neither speak human nor fly."

The now-whiskered _chibi_ Botan purred, all curled up in her rowboat paddle. "I can't understand you! I'm a cat, remember? _Nya_!"

With that, she soared into the summer sky, leaving a long, melodious meow fading in her wake.

Now coasting past the clouds drifting over the City of Yukimi, Botan placed a hand upon her heart. She could swear that it was leaping right off her chest. Its violent thumps were all she could hear.

"What… What _was_ that?" she murmured to herself, infinite wonder pouring out of her melodic voice. "_Who_ was that? And why…?"

Botan shook her head and gazed far into the endless strip of sky before her. "I better tell Koenma-_sama_!"

Setsu shook her head and gazed far into the endless strip of sky above her. _An ageless, actually bodiless female form dressed out of touch with the times and riding on a flying oar._ She blinked. _And yet_ she _was scared of_ me.

She popped the blunt tip of her paintbrush back into her mouth and returned to her canvas.

_Those deities of Death are so funny._

* * *

A salt-and-pepper-haired man in his fifties extended his hand.

"We have been awaiting your return to Meiou, Minamino-_kun_! A pleasure to have you among us again! Welcome back!"

A smile arching his lips, the returning student gave the chancellor's hand a firm shake.

"The pleasure is all mine, sir."

He could already hear it ringing in his ears—the classroom wall clock oh, so slowly ticking away every passing second of all those grueling hours upon hours of sheer boredom.

Kurama stifled a sigh.

* * *

"_Hn_?" Setsu glanced at the bedroom door.

Shiori pushed it open with the clothesbasket in her hands. "_Ara_," she breathed upon catching sight of her houseguest's canvas propped on a wooden easel. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your drawing—"

Setsu relieved her of her load. "That's all right, _'Ba-san_. You didn't disturb me at all." Her gaze fell onto the basket she now held by both handles. "Did you come here for Minamino-_sempai_'s dirty laundry?"

The older woman shook her head. "He already washed them. I came to get yours."

"Oh." This time, the younger woman shook her head. "You don't have to, Shiori-_'ba-san_. Really. I'll do my own laundry."

A playful smile curling her lips, Shiori lightheartedly wagged a finger at Setsu. "Not while you're under my roof, you're not!" Her soft-spoken tone spoiling the seriousness of her pretend threat, she giggled to herself as she strode to her biological son's clothes closet and pulled both knobs open. "You can't hide your laundry from me, Setsuki-_chan_! Now where did you put those? They must be here somewhere…"

"_Demo_, '_Ba-san_," Setsu could only watch as the well-meaning but meddlesome mother leaned forward into the dresser, rummaging around for a secret set of wardrobe that was nowhere near there in the first place. "I've never even opened that clo—"

Suddenly, a gasp caught in the middle-aged woman's throat.

"Se—Se…" Shiori began panting uncontrollably. "Se… tsuki-_chan_…?"

_What could she have possibly seen?_ Setsu rushed to her side, blue eyes ferreting out the cause of Kurama's mother's sudden change in disposition.

Shiori drew her hand away from a tall stack of neatly folded clothing, tightening her fist around something she could not even bear to see again.

"What is it, '_Ba-san_?"

"Is…"

The terrified mother could not even speak.

"Is… this…"

Petite porcelain fingers uncurled, opening just enough to reveal their secret within—

"Is… this… yours…?"

—A torn shred of cloth, once a bright yellow but had already been discolored for some time. Whatever had stained it had soaked the fabric through and through.

Setsu froze.

_Sempai!_

A lump hardened in her throat.

_Your blood!_

* * *

"_Eeto_, Kurama-_san_, he's really very, very, very, very, very, _veeeeerrry_ busy right now! So if you could just come back to visit him another time, I'd appreciate it very, very, very, very, very, _veeeeerrry_ much!" The overly talkative subordinate desperately implored, sinking to his knees and gripping Kurama's shirttails. "He just _hates_ it when someone drops by just when he isn't expecting company, so _please_, Kurama-_san_! Listen to what I'm saying! I _beg_ of you!"

Kurama kept on walking to the doors of the library, never once stopping to look his companion in the eye.

"I know you never come by just to say hello or shoot the breeze, so you must be here on official business, but I still have to tell you—he can't entertain you right now! So if you would just kindly listen to me…! I still want to live to see tomorrow!"

The obstinate visitor hung his head low, hiding endless green eyes beneath crimson hair. "_Sumana_. But this is urgent."

Paying no heed to the assistant's warnings, Kurama pushed the grand doors open and stepped into the vast hall.

* * *

"Is… this… yours…?"

Shiori's hand trembled more and more violently by the second.

Setsu shook her head.

"So this is…"

Setsu closed her eyes. The one-eyed, talking Muddy Bomb that burst from the concrete under him and latched onto his left leg. The explosions—one after another after another after another. The floating, volatile bomb orbs, all invisible to his naked eye yet lethal to his touch. The blood. The look of lust in that depraved devil's eyes. The blood. His satanic victory laugh. The blood. His finally unmasked face. The blood. The duel to the death.

The blood.

So viciously did her teeth gnash against each other that a twinge of pain shot through her gums. A fist clenched in secret.

_If you didn't already kill him,_ I _would have! Again and again!_

Her eyes going blank, the middle-aged woman in the apron sank to her knees.

"Setsuki…" murmured Shiori to herself, the whole world blurring, spinning around her. "Where… is he…?"

All Setsu could do at the moment were to swallow the lump in her throat and to ease the fears gnawing away at Shiori's sensibilities. "Does he even wear that color, _'Ba-san_? We can never be too sure that that's really his—"

"If this isn't his…"

_Think positive,_ 'Ba-san. _For both of you._ Setsu hoped against hope. _Onegai._

"… then it must belong to someone else he caused to bleed this much…"

Setsu winced to herself. _She's right…!_ Sempai, _your human mother is much wiser than you mistakenly believe her to be!_

"Either way… that's not good…"

_She shouldn't have seen it_, Setsu told herself the obvious. _Not now. Not while that secretive son of hers isn't here to explain himself!_

Lost, distant blue eyes gazed out the window.

_Why did you keep it all this time, anyway? You shouldn't have. You really shouldn't have._

"Is he… in danger…? Where… could he be…?"

_Now your walls are crumbling down, one by one._

Setsu hung her head low and bit her lip.

_Minamino_-sempai.

She closed her eyes.

_Help me._

* * *

"Please, I'm _begging_ you! _Don't disturb him!_"

Saotome Jorge's deafening wail echoed throughout the endless rows of shelves in the private _Reikai_ palace library.

A spider vein popped out of a baby's temple.

"_You're_ disturbing me!" roared Koenma, hurling the book in his hands straight at the bungling blue ogre standing right below his stepladder. "Stupid Jorge!"

"K-Koenma-_sama_!" stuttered the right-hand ogre in jumpy fear of losing either his job or his life, or both. "I _tried_ to stop him, sir! But he just wouldn't take no for an answer! He insists to see you no matter what!"

"Who is that—"

Koenma stopped upon catching earshot of familiar footsteps drawing closer.

"_Hisashiburi_…"

His head hung low and his eyes closed, a poised, elegant demon-human stepped out of the shadows.

"… Koenma."

Kurama opened his eyes and regarded the toddler prince at the top rung of the ladder before him.

_I've come for answers, Koenma. I shall resort to fraud or force if I must._

**Continued**

Shiori: But how about you, Setsuki-_chan_?

Setsu: What about me, _'Ba-san_?

Shiori: What kind of man interests _you_?

Mikageshi: *coughYOURSONcough* *whacked with baby grand piano*

*nursing broken spine* Whoa. Setsu is in deep shit. O.O (Ugh, my mouth—it's so foul! I'm turning into Yusuke! XD)

Just in case you were wondering what instrumental Shuuichi the Younger and Setsu were listening—and playing imaginary instruments along—to… Actually, I had three songs in mind. The first one was _**One-Third no Junjou na Kanjou**_ (_Sanbun no Ichi no Junjou na Kanjou_ / _One-Third Pure Feelings_) by Siam Shade, the sixth ending song of the anime _Rurouni Kenshin_. But then I changed my mind to _**Make You Free**_ (Hisoca's version, _not_ Kimeru's), the third opening song of the anime _Prince of Tennis_. But while I was typing that part of this chapter, I finally decided to imagine _**Still Time**_ by Tokuyama Hidenori, the second opening song of the anime _Gensoumaden Saiyuki_, simply because both its electric guitar chords and drumbeats are _insanely_ fast to follow. XD Do these songs sound familiar to you?

And as for the one Shiori played on her organ-sounding piano… You'll know it when the time is right. ^^

Trivia time: If you've seen an authentic bowl of ramen before—whether in real life or depicted in anime—did you notice that small white flower-shaped ingredient with a reddish-pink spiral in its middle? Yeah, that. It's called the _fishcake_. Such a pretty thing, but made from fish! I find that hard to digest. (Pun intended.) XD

Happy reviewing! ^-^

**Japanese to English translations and abridged YYH glossary**

_**aa**_ and _**un**_. Slang for _yes_ and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
_**ame**_. _Rain_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**ara**_. A Japanese expression roughly translated to the English interjections _oh dear_ or _oh my  
__**arigatou**_. _Thank you_, less formal than _arigatou gozaimasu  
__**atsui**_. _Hot  
_'_**ba-san**_. A contraction of _Oba-san_, a respectful address for one's own _aunt  
__**Botan**_. _Peony_, used as a name in this fic  
**-**_**chan**_. An honorific used to address _girls_, _animals_, or anything that the speaker considers to be cute  
_**char-sieu men**_. Also spelled as _char-siu men_; pork noodle soup  
_**chibi**_. Literally meaning _small / little_ (in size), refers to a Japanese animation style wherein characters are drawn or portrayed with oversized heads and undersized bodies to add a comic relief effect to the current scene  
_**daigaku**_. _University / college  
__**daijoubu**_. _(That's) all right / okay  
__**demo**_. _But  
__**eeto**_, _**eh**_, and _**hn**_. Disfluencies of speech (much like the English _uh_ and _um_), not limited to the Japanese language  
_**gomen**_. _Sorry_, less formal than _gomen nasai  
__**gomoku**_** ramen**. A salt-based noodle soup with mixed seafood, chicken, and vegetables  
_**hai**_. _Yes  
__**heh**_. An expression of casual indifference (much like a shrug) or smugness  
_**Hiei**_. _Flying shadow_, used as a name in this fic  
_**hisashiburi**_. _Long time no see_, said informally  
_**iie**_ and _**iiya**_. Formal and informal _no_, respectively  
_**itadaki**_. A shortened and disrespectful manner of saying _itadakimasu_, a traditional Japanese expression of gratitude customarily uttered _before_ meals (much like changing a prayer to _thanks for the grub_)  
_**itoko**_. _Cousin  
__**jagan**_. _Third eye_ (not to be referred to as "_jagan_ eye," as that would be redundant)  
_**jaganshi**_. _Master_ of the _jagan  
_'_**ji-san**_. A contraction of _Oji-san_, a respectful address for one's own _uncle  
__**jitsu wa**_. _Actually_; Kurama almost always uses this when he begins explaining_  
_'_**kaa-san**_. A contraction of _Okaa-san_, a respectful address for one's own _mother  
__**kitsune**_. _Fox  
__**Koenma**_. _Little Enma / child of Enma_, used as a name in this fic  
**-**_**kun**_. An honorific used to address _boys_ or boyish girls  
_**Makai**_. _Demon World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
**_matte_**. _Wait_  
_**mayonaka**_. _Midnight_, used as a name in this fic  
_**mengo**_. Not an actual Japanese word; Mayonaka Setsuki's version of _sorry_  
_**Minamino**_. _Southern field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**minna**_. _All / everyone  
__**miso**_. _Bean paste  
__**moyashi**_** ramen**. A thick soy-based soup with bean sprouts, minced pork, and vegetables  
_**nami**_. _Wave_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**nani**_. _What  
__**ne**_. An expression for seeking confirmation (much like the English tag questions _isn't it_ or _okay_)  
'_**nii-san**_. A contraction of _Onii-san_, a respectful address for one's own _older brother  
__**ningen**_. _Human / human being  
__**Ningenkai**_. _Human World_ (as opposed to the Demon World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**nya**_. An onomatopoetic word for the sound of a cat (much like the English _meow_)  
_**oi**_. An expression similar to the English _hey_, not limited to the Japanese language  
_**onegai**_. _Please_, less formal than _onegaishimasu  
__**otouto**_. _Little brother / younger brother  
__**oyasumi**_. _Good night_, less formal than _oyasumi nasai  
__**Reikai**_. _Spirit World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Demon World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
**-**_**sama**_. An honorific used to address someone very respectfully, like _lord_ or _master  
_**-**_**san**_. An honorific used to address someone politely  
**-**_**sempai**_. An honorific used to address an upperclassman  
_**setsu**_. _Opinion_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**shikashi**_. _However  
__**Shiori**_. _Guidebook_, used as a name in this fic  
_**shoyu**_** ramen**. A dish of noodle soup combining chicken (or vegetable) broth and soy sauce, optionally garnished with spring onions, fishcakes, and seaweed, among others; may or may not be served spicy  
_**Shuuichi**_. _Excellence first_, used as a name in this fic  
_**sumana**_. Kurama and other Japanese males say this to mean _excuse me / pardon me_ instead of the politer term _sumimasen_ or the even politer term _shitsurei shimasu_, but the actual Japanese word for this is _sumaranai  
__**tantei**_. _Detective_; used in this fic to refer to the _Reikai Tantei_ (Spirit Detectives) Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei  
_**Toki no Suna**_. Sands of Time (_toki_ is _time_, and _suna_ is _sand_); used in this fic as the name of an object  
_**'**__**tou-san**_. A contraction of _Otou-san_, a respectful address for one's own _father  
__**toushin**_. _War god_ (also translated to Japanese as _toshi kami_)  
_**Urameshi**_. _Bay rice_, used as a name in this fic  
_**youkai**_. _Demon  
__**Yusuke**_. _Ghost helper_, used as a name in this fic

For the nth time, if I missed anything that you need translating or explaining, just say so in the Reviews page. **Please REVIEW! Thank you! ^-^**


	15. The Thief

Chapter 15 is fondly dedicated to _you_:

**Pewter Queen**-_san_: Yup, we are now much closer to the answers than ever before. But this case won't be cracked so easily.

I think the reason why you don't see Kurama x Setsu becoming a reality yet is because they're both so busy resolving their respective issues, they hardly have any time for a budding romance. O.O We all know that Kurama is not at all the kind of guy who would just… take someone away… from someone else. Setsu also doesn't seem to be the type who will just dump someone to whom she's been committed for years. So how will they ever get together, then?

Well, you're just going to have to read on to find out. ^^ Don't worry—all will fall into place when the time is right. (I've already planned it out until the end. I just don't have the luxury of time to write it all.)

As for your question… Were you asking if the baby now known as Minamino Shuuichi was supposed to have been a girl at birth? If that _is_ what you were asking, then yes. She was. But then Youko Kurama merged into her, so she came out a he. XD But if that's not what you were asking after all, then please, feel free to ask me again. ^-^ I still hope to hear from you again!

**Shush Love**-_san_: You're right—the Minamino Shiori in my fanfic isn't as "clueless" as we all thought she was. ^-^ So you prefer calling Setsu "Tsuki," then. That's okay—"Tsuki" sounds much prettier, anyway. (Just ask Kaname. XD) And yes, she does have a different form. But her "true" form still remains a mystery for now.

What did you find so funny about Hiei's treatment of Setsu? (Now I can't read that part of Chapter 14 without chuckling to myself—even though I have no idea what makes me chuckle in the first place. O.O Your laughter is contagious! XDD)

Sorry I'm taking so long to update this fanfic. Even at this rate, I'm already updating as fast as I can. You are most welcome! Thank you, too, for all the love! \^o^/ (P.S. I love your avatar. CX)

**loser94**-_san_: You told me to leave Mini-Chapter 3 as Chapter 13, so I did. ^-^ And _merci!_ (Are you French? Just curious. ^^;)

**DiesIrae773**-_san_: That's a hilarious idea! XD "_'Ba-san_," Setsu pointed to the stain running down his pants. "_Sempai_ might need…" She fished for the most inconspicuous word she could come up with at the top of her head. "… _padding_… right about now." XDD

And speaking of "that time of the month"… Well, I shouldn't type any spoilers here. ^-^; Just read this new chapter to find out what I mean! ^^

**Kaori Minamino**-_san_: Hi there! No need to apologize or anything. I'm just happy that you're still reading and reviewing so faithfully. \^-^/ As for your Internet connection, I think I see what you mean. (I have this sneaky feeling that your last review shouldn't have been unsigned / anonymous.) I hope your connection improves soon! (And it's not just so you could continue reading and reviewing this fanfic, of course—but for your other surfing purposes, too. XD)

Mother-daughter bond? You mean Shiori and _Setsu_? (When I first read your review, the ones who popped into my mind were Shiori and _Kurama_. ^^;) As always, there's a reason behind that event. Actually, there's something about (between? XD) Shiori and Setsu that Kurama hasn't quite figured out yet. But he will. Eventually. ^-^

And yup, Yusuke's growing on me, too. XD It strikes me that he himself hates Setsu to the bone, but seems to approve of her for Kurama. ^_^ You know, I didn't even realize those two repressed romantics got caught in an "impromptu hug" until you pointed it out! XDD Watch out for what happens in _this_ chapter, then!

**rain chant**-_san_: Yes Kurama, yes! Beat the crap outta Koen—Sorry, got a little carried away there. XD Just excited to finally hear from you again. ^-^ And I _love_ your evil laugh. I could almost hear it in my mind! *imagines a long "MWAHAHAHA!" with palms outstretched and fingers slightly curled up* XDD

And **Unita**-_san_, to whom this is dedicated _twice_: Wow. Your life schedule sounds… hectic, to say the least. Thank you for finding the time—no, for _making_ time!—to continue reading and reviewing my fanfic, then! \^o^/ I can already picture you scribbling into your notebook while on the bus. (Good thing the ride was smooth enough for you to write even while the bus was in motion… XD)

Ah, anime conventions. I haven't attended one in what seems like forever…! T_T Two conventions had been held here in my country just this month. The sad thing is, I'm always in the very mall where they're held on the very days when they are held there, but I never have the time to just drop by and take a peek! So I brush past all those dedicated cosplayers swarming around me with an unspoken, unspeakable envy. XD (Meanwhile, the only anime characters whose full costumes I have are Echizen Ryoma and the rest of the Seigaku Tennis Club of the _Prince of Tennis_. But I can't convincingly pull off any one of them anyway. T.T) Did you cosplay for that anime con program you held? Just curious. ^_^

You know, I was thinking of you while writing the Kaname x Kurama crack. ^^ I remembered that you told me to steer clear of Kurama x Hiei—or any other Kurama _yaoi_, for that matter—throughout this entire fic. So I thought maybe you'd object to the crack I had in mind. But I wrote it anyway, just to post something in time for Kurama's birthday. Now I'm glad to know that mini-chapter made you snicker in the train. XD (That old lady beside you that time must have been eyeing you real suspiciously! XDD)

Yeah, the Eternal _is_ nice to Kurama, isn't it? (Kind of makes you wonder why… *wink*) As always, it was very perceptive of you to have come to the conclusion that they "have a past together." The scar… The sudden freedom… The imprisonment… The questions you posed are pointing towards the right direction, my friend! (In fact, right now I'm resisting all temptation to just PM you all the answers! XD I wouldn't want to spoil the entire fanfic for you now! We've already gotten this far! ^^)

And yes, it _was_ Setsu's dream this time—even if it was Kurama's the first time around. She seemed to have reacted to the characters in her dream. Just who they are to her—and who she is to them—have yet to be revealed.

As for the piece Shiori played in her piano… Yes, it _is_ YYH music. All of you will know which YYH song it was in Chapter—*cough* I really _should_ stop typing spoilers in my review responses! XD Well, you _will_ know it. Soon. That's all I can say for now. ^^

Kurama really _does_ have blocked memories of his distant past. I realized that while watching the second YYH movie (the full-length one), when he was struggling—and miserably failing—to remember whether or not he had truly betrayed Kuronue back then. So until now, here in my fic, his memory still fails him big time. But doing *something* seem to help refresh his memory, though… XD

To tell you the truth—without giving you too much of a spoiler, I hope—I have indeed already shown you "what kind of relationship" Kurama and Setsu used to have… as early as Chapter 7. Yeah. But of course the whole story has yet to unfold in later chapters of this fic. I now answer your question, "Did they meet when Kurama was very young?" with another question: "Just how young do you mean?" *grins meaningfully*

Using Yusuke's ramen shop as a scene setting somehow… comforts… me. As long as Yusuke is just lazing around in there, I'm assured that the characters in this fic have a prearranged, permanent place in which to gather and meet. It's one of the very few settings in this fic that was in actual YYH canon, too—so I feel like I'm somehow still sticking to canon even as the plot thickens.

Yup, Hiei did have his _jagan_ "implanted" in him. And you're right about the dangers of having one, _and_ about how Hiei is an exception to the rule (lucky bastard XD). But his _jagan_ is now part of the mystery, too. In fact, it's quite a revealing piece of the puzzle—just like Setsu's allergy.

Koenma has no clue about Setsu right now. (She's been hiding herself more masterfully than we think. XD) But when he discovers the truth… Man, what a disaster. XDD As for the spelling of his sidekick secretary's name… It's Jorge in the original Japanese YYH, but FUNimation of the U.S. spelled it as George. (To make it seem more American, most likely.) But because I abide by the original version of YYH, I use the J spelling.

(And since I follow the original Japanese version, I really _should_ be spelling Yusuke as "Yuusuke"—after all, I even spell "Shuuichi" with two U's! XD But I don't disapprove of the Americanized "Yusuke" spelling because omitting one U doesn't drastically change the "essence" or overall meaning of his name—"Yusuke" still is _ghost helper_, but the word _ghost_ was simply shortened. What I _do_ find objectionable, though, was their turning "Keiko" into "Kayko"! They're not the same name! "Kayko" isn't even Japanese anymore! Mrgh!)

Anyway, my personal opinions aside—hey, now I think I know where Setsu gets it from XD—that torn piece of cloth that alarmed Shiori so much really _was_ from the Kurama vs. Karasu fight. (I loved that fight, too. ^^) I myself wonder why he kept it. (So it's Setsu's job to find out why! XD She will. Soon. ^-^) Don't you think it's so convenient that her powers enable her to "see" flashbacks from YYH canon? XDD

I'm sorry you had difficulty posting your two reviews for Chapter 14. I just _love_ the way you investigate every piece of the puzzle! But as much as I enjoy learning about all the questions that run through your mind as you read this mystery, I must remind you not to be too hard on yourself. (Do you consider yourself a perfectionist? I think I myself am one. I gotta admit, it's challenging to be my own worst enemy! XD) You might have felt that your first review of Chapter 14 was "incomplete" when you posted it, but I am utterly impressed with just how close you are to solving this "case"! ^-^ I'm just very thankful to have a reader-reviewer dissect this little fanfic of mine so carefully! I always look forward to hearing from you again!

Then here's a shout-out to the new readers of this little fanfic of mine who just joined us in Chapter 14: **LilyMoonstone** and **Little Werwolf**! (Anyone else I forgot to mention? ^^;) I hope to read your reviews soon!

**Happy reading!**

* * *

"I…"

Two pairs of eyes—one of smoldering lavender, the other of endless green—gazed upon and into the mirror.

"… still can't believe it."

He was smiling—that little boy in the mirror. Never in his former life had he smiled as… generously… as he was now. He loved his new mother. He enjoyed being with her.

"It's really him." The younger Eternal's voice dripped heavily of longing.

So short he was, and so tiny were his hands, that the only part of his human mother he could reach for and hold was her thumb. He gripped that delicate thumb with the innocent, well-meaning possessiveness of a true human child as they frolicked across the playground of the Yukimi City Park.

Violet eyes tore away from the mother and son and settled upon green. "He certainly looks like you."

A pale, frail hand with a slash across its palm inched toward the magical mirror, pressing its scar against the biting cold of the glass. A smile threatened to curl the younger Eternal's lips.

"A reflection of me."

**15: The Thief  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **Decoding the Eternal**

"Kurama—!" Small, beady baby eyes widened. The Prince of _Reikai_ paid no more attention to the open book in his hands. "What brings _you_ here?"

"I want you to tell me everything you know about them, Koenma. _Iiya_—everything there is to know about them."

"Them?"

Koenma knew when to be serious. He snapped the hardbound volume closed and slotted it back into its rightful place on the shelf before him.

Standing between them, Saotome Jorge whirled to face whoever spoke at the moment, mentally stapling his mouth shut. A single word in edgewise could cost him his job, his life, or both.

Kurama looked Koenma straight in the eye.

"The Eternals."

A gasp escaped Koenma's lips.

* * *

"Is he… in danger…? Where… could he be…?"

Setsu hung her head low and bit her lip.

"He is in his office, _'Ba-san_." The younger woman clapped a reassuring hand on the older woman's back. "He should be perfectly safe there."

"Se…" choked Shiori, a hot tear trickling from her eye. "… tsuki… How much… isn't he telling me…?"

_So this is…_

Shiori's shoulders wracked with stifled sobs. Young, calloused hands slowly, shyly slipped around them.

… _the pain of a human mother._

"I should have known…" Smiling in spite of her tears, Shiori shook her head to herself. "I should have known he was… capable of hiding things from me…"

Still holding the broken woman in her arms, Setsu closed her eyes and buried her chin into the human mother's shoulder.

"I always thought… he tells me everything…"

"'_Ba-san_, I'm sure that _sempai_ has his reasons for doing everything that he does."

_Don't tell her, Mayonaka Setsuki. If he has not revealed himself to her until now, then he may not be ready to do so yet. Don't do it for him. Only_ he _deserves to tell her the truth. And she deserves to hear the truth only from_ him.

"What reason… could possibly explain _this_?" Shiori clenched the bloodstained cloth in her hand.

"He is male, _'Ba-san_. More often than not, men encounter confrontations of a physical kind. They get into fights."

"But Shuuichi never—"

"I know, _'Ba-san_. I may not know Minamino-_sempai_ as well as you do, but I trust that he never starts a fight." Setsu shook her head for emphasis. "In fact, I believe that he never gets into one unless he absolutely has to. Maybe to defend himself. Or maybe someone else."

"Shuuichi wouldn't…" More tears spilled out of Shiori's eyes. "He wouldn't even hurt a fly!"

"But in a situation wherein he _has to_…"

"Setsuki-_chan_, he could have been badly hurt!"

_He was. For more times than you can accept._ "Maybe at that time, _'Ba-san_. But what should matter to you is how he is in the _now_. We both know that he's just fine."

"Still, Setsuki-_chan_…!" Setsu felt Shiori's warm teardrops soak her back. "This means he… _doesn't tell me_ when he's not fine!"

_She wants to protect him. Just as much as_ he _protects_ her. _From the truth._

"He just doesn't want you to worry about him, _'Ba-san_. He deals with his problems on his own so as not to worry you."

Shiori sniffled. "But _of course_ I'll worry about him, Setsuki-_chan_! What kind of mother wouldn't worry for her own son?"

"But what kind of son would want his mother to always worry about him?"

* * *

"How—!" stammered the toddler prince on the highest rung of the stepladder in the private palace library. "How did you know about them?"

Kurama closed his eyes.

"Kurama, _no one outside the royal family of_ Reikai knows about them!"

_Need I tell you that my most skilled men and I once raided their castle? That should already be in your records by now._ "One of them inhabited a ruined fortress in _Makai_ long ago."

Another gasp passed royal lips. "The _Makai_ _tokime_!"

_Tokime…_ Kurama repeated in his thoughts slowly. "_Maiden of Time."_ Suddenly a realization struck him. _Maiden!_

_A woman!_

"Tell me, Koenma." His expression never flinched. "Would it be wrong of me to assume that Eternals are not _youkai_, but spirits like yourself?"

Koenma forced a gulp down his throat. "_Warui_, Kurama. We can't talk about that. It's classified information. If I spill a word, I must answer to my father himself!"

_Just as I thought._ "If they are spirits," Kurama pressed on anyway. "Then why was one of them living in _Makai_?"

Grubby baby hands balled into fists. "_Please_, Kurama! Don't make me disobey my father! I can't say _a word_ about any and all Eternals!"

"_All_ Eternals," quoted Kurama. "So you admit it: There _is_ more than one of them."

Koenma's signature blue pacifier nearly popped out of his mouth. "I—I didn't say that—"

"But you did, Koenma. You know as well as I do that you did." A sly smile curled the human-demon's lips. "Now if only you could tell me what one of them was doing in _Makai_ when she should have spent her entire life here in _Reikai_. That's not a typical assignment for a spirit, isn't it, Koenma? It's too dangerous for a spirit to live outside _Reikai_. Even _you_ must return to this world after some time."

His nerves fraying more and more by the second, the Prince of the Spirit World looked away and distracted himself by leafing through the row of books stacked before him. "You're my friend, Kurama, but even so, I really can't tell you any more!"

"You aren't denying it." Cold, calculating green eyes twinkled knowingly. "Was that Eternal exiled to _Makai_, then? Was she held prisoner? Why?"

Icy beads of sweat trickled down a baby brow. "Where are you getting all this?"

"Has she escaped?"

A hassled, nearly harassed Koenma hurriedly split another book open and buried his nose into it. "I—I don't know what you're talking about!"

"But I should think there's a text in here that does."

Royal eyes widened.

"Surely _Reikai_ keeps a record of all beings to have ever lived. Most especially those treated as closely guarded secrets."

Now even Koenma's palms were sweating. As dependable an ally and _Reikai Tantei_ he was, Kurama was truly a fearsome foe to have. Every move he himself made gave _something_ away to the shrewd, scheming demon! Was this the same spell the master thief's victims always fell under—to be rendered utterly helpless, powerless in his mere presence? To be vulnerable to the point of madness? To feel that they themselves contain the seeds of their own destruction?

"Why don't you answer that yourself, Kurama?" argued Koenma, his eyes darting towards the bookshelf across him, checking to see if the ancient mystical scroll Kurama sought after was still there. "You seem to know the answers to your own questions anyway!"

_Now!_

"I see you're of little help to me, Koenma." The displeased bandit stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. "I expected more from you."

"Sorry to disappoint," mumbled the baby under his breath.

"You should know," continued the cunning, conniving _kitsune_. "I've been conducting a little investigation of my own for the past three months."

"Investigation?" Koenma finally looked up from the book he held to his face as a makeshift shield. "Of what?"

"Oh, it's of no consequence to you, Koenma." A devious, dangerous gleam in his eye, Kurama turned his back on the oblivious prince and walked away. "You have absolved Hiei, and even myself, of our past crimes anyway. Surely you can pardon one more."

"Kurama, wait!" Koenma tossed the hardcover away and leapt off the tall ladder. "What did you—"

But the thief was gone.

* * *

Weak in both body and will, Shiori slowly rose from her knees and sank onto the foot of her biological son's bed. Setsu helped her up and sat next to her, studying the stream of tears that had dried up on the older woman's cheeks.

"I shouldn't take it against him so much." The distressed mother eyed the bloodied cloth in her outstretched hand. "I myself am guilty of keeping something from him."

A calloused hand suddenly clasped the torn article of clothing.

"Would you like us to talk about it?"

Shiori gazed upon the calloused hand now holding her own, the once bright yellow fabric between them. "Yes, Setsuki-_chan_. Very much." She looked up and met those deep, glassy blue eyes. "But please promise not to tell Shuuichi!"

_Oh, but you need not tell me that,_ 'Ba-san. _I, too, deprive him of secrets of my own._ Setsu nodded. "_Hai_. It is not—and will never be—my place to tell him. Everything between the two of you alone, he deserves to hear from you yourself."

Shiori heaved a heavy sigh.

"Setsuki-_chan_… I've never said this to anyone… Not even with the other mothers in the sewing club or my friends in the book club… But before he died… Ryuuichi-_sama_…"

_Ryuuichi? Minamino_-sempai_'s—_

"He accused me of…" Shiori closed her eyes, yet another tear escaping her eye. "… of having an affair."

A long pause lingered between them.

"Minamino-_sempai_'s…" Setsu spoke slowly. "… biological father?"

"_Un_." Shiori nodded gently. "He died when Shuuichi was very young. They never got along, Setsuki-_chan_. Ryuuichi-_sama_ always thought Shuuichi wasn't… Shuuichi wasn't…"

_His son._

The crestfallen Shiori hung her head low. "… his son."

_So that could be why I've never seen Minamino_-sempai _mourn over his father as I do with_ Haha.

"You've noticed it too, haven't you, Setsuki-_chan_?"

"_Hn_?"

"Shuuichi doesn't look anything like me."

A sudden realization dawned upon Setsu. _Exactly how long have you been on to him,_ 'Ba-san_? Could you… could you possibly know even just a little of the truth?_

"He doesn't even look like Ryuuichi-_sama_. Ryuuichi-_sama_ noticed it right when he was born."

_That early?_ "'_Ba-san_, did he…?"

Shiori shook her head. "But Ryuuichi-_sama_ still treated Shuuichi like a real son. He always said Shuuichi was a cute baby!" After all her crying, she finally managed to giggle softly to herself. "But we always talked after Shuuichi fell asleep in his crib. For many, many nights, he…" The mild-mannered housewife quietly forced a gulp down her throat. "… He accused me of having slept with another man."

"Simply because Minamino-_sempai_ did not resemble either of you," Setsu finished for her.

"_Hai_," Shiori murmured airily, a distant look in her eyes. "Both of us have always wondered whom Shuuichi must have taken after… Who among our relatives had red hair and green eyes..."

_It is a long story,_ 'Ba-san. Setsu's gaze fell. _And I cannot tell it alone._

"But _please_ trust me, Setsuki-_chan_! I never had an affair!" cried the anguished wife and mother. "I can assure you Ryuuichi-_sama_ is Shuuichi's real father!"

"I have no doubt about that, Shiori-_'ba-san_." Setsu gripped the petite porcelain hand in her own and the bloodstained cloth in between. "I trust you."

_Now if only both of you knew that Minamino_-sempai _is not your real son…_

"Thank you, Setsuki-_chan_," whispered Shiori, her lips finally curling into a shy, sweet smile. "I just wish Ryuuichi-_sama_ believed me. He never did. Not even in his deathbed."

Setsu hung her head low, sandy brown locks shrouding sorrowful blue eyes. "_Mengo. Iie. Gomen. Gomen nasai._"

"Since Ryuuichi-_sama_ died, Shuuichi has been the son every mother in the world could only dream to have," Shiori looked far across the room, at the photo in the silver-plated picture frame on her son's study table. "I couldn't have asked for any other. He helped me through very trying times. Because of him, I didn't find being a widow to be so hard."

_You have been an admirable son, Minamino_-sempai_. Secretive, but admirable._

"And that's why I feel guilty." Shiori blinked back yet another tear filling her eye. "I'm ashamed of myself for even just entertaining the thought that maybe he isn't my son after all! I shouldn't doubt him! And yet I do!"

Setsu bit back a gasp. _She knows—!_

"I gave birth to him, Setsuki-_chan_! He came from inside me! I _felt_ him coming out of me!" Never had Shiori caught herself more hysterical in her life. The typically meek woman weakly gripped Setsu's shoulders, her old, tired blue eyes silently pleading for mercy. "Why do I have this… this nagging feeling…?"

"Shiori-_'ba-san_."

That low, mellow voice rang with authority, a most mysterious sense of command. Shiori blinked and came back to her senses. "_Hai_?"

"Does Minamino-_sempai_ know that _you yourself_ suspect…?"

"I…" Shiori shook her head once, twice. Passionately. Desperately. "I hope not…!"

"Don't worry."

The mother felt a calloused hand firmly clap onto her shoulder.

"He will never hear it from me."

* * *

Kurama looked out the fiberglass window of the train.

Speeding through its track on schedule, the bullet train coasted past one electrical post after another. Green eyes trailed the black high-tension electric cables linking one power grid to another.

"_Why don't you answer that yourself, Kurama?" argued Koenma, his eyes darting towards the bookshelf across him, checking to see if the ancient mystical scroll Kurama sought after was still there. "You seem to know the answers to your own questions anyway!"_

_Green eyes silently stalked after brown._

That scroll! _Kurama noted to himself._ It must contain valuable information about the Eternals!

"_I see you're of little help to me, Koenma." The displeased bandit stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. "I expected more from you."_

_Just then, a_ Makai_ vine slinked out of Kurama's sleeve and pants pocket, and down his leg. Escaping Koenma and Jorge's ranges of vision altogether, the creeping plant stealthily slithered around their feet, past the stepladder, and all the way to the very manuscript that Koenma absolutely refused to divulge to Kurama._

"_Sorry to disappoint," mumbled the baby under his breath._

Don't be sorry, Koenma. _A secret smirk arched Kurama's lips._ You've been of more help to me than you know.

Green eyes gazed upon the rice paddies, upon the vast, endless fields of green beyond the window.

Kurama uncrossed his legs and retrieved the antique document now in his pants pocket. He studied it for a minute. It was neither tied nor locked shut, but it would not unroll. _Why won't this open?_

With his right pointer and thumb, he took hold of the timeworn, frayed edges of the scroll and carefully peeled—pried—it open. Suddenly the crusty, flaky page tore through the skin of his pointer forefinger, and a drop of fresh blood oozed out of the slit. He winced to himself. _Is this cursed? Could only the royalty of_ Reikai _lift its curse?_

He then transferred the manuscript to his left hand, raised his right over it, and channeled his energies—both his demonic _youki_ and human _reiki_—into the scroll.

_It responds to_ reiki_!_ He closed his eyes to train his focus. _But my_ youki _is reversing its reaction!_

At that moment, his passenger ticket fell out of his pocket.

_Good thing I'm going her way._ He read the destination written on his train ticket as he picked it up. _My_ reiki _may not be enough to open it. I might need hers as well._

* * *

Setsu heaved a heavy sigh. She was alone again.

She eyed the photo in the silver-plated picture frame on Kurama's bedroom desk, her lost, wandering finger tracing along the edges of the frame. A warmly smiling Shiori sat upon a park bench as a Kurama in Meiou High School uniform stood behind the bench and leaned closer to her, his hands planted squarely—reassuringly—on her shoulders.

_Still such a gentle family. But more troubled than meets the eye._

The young woman with brown hair and blue eyes studied the image of the older woman with brown hair and blue eyes… then the young man with red hair and green eyes.

A smile threatened to curl the nonhuman's lips.

_Truly a reflection of me._

* * *

The bamboo lever by the garden pond fell to one side, the diagonally cut bamboo cane that served as its tip dropping onto the giant stone beneath it.

Kneeling on the _tatami_ mat his host had laid out for him on the temple floor, Kurama heard the snap of bamboo against rock as he put his cup down before his knees.

Genkai drew her hand away from the scroll just as the bright white light glowing around both her hand and the roll ebbed into nothing. "You're out of luck, Kurama," she crossed her arms before her chest and closed her eyes. "Even my _reiki_ can't open it."

Kurama's gaze fell to the impeccably polished wooden floor of Genkai's legendary _dojo_. _I should have expected this._ He studied the reflection of the aged martial arts fighter against the shiny hardwood floor. _After all, she had already passed on her powers to Yusuke._

"Why don't you ask that blockhead to help you out?" The mere memory of her reckless, headstrong student and successor wrinkled the elderly woman's face even more than it already was. "He's got enough _reiki_ to power three cities!"

Kurama was well aware of that fact. He nodded in agreement. "_Sou_. _Shikashi_, the scroll repels _youki_. And since his fight with Yomi in the _Makai_ Tournament, Yusuke has been wielding both his _reiki_ and _youki_ at once. He has not yet learned to control them—to release only one _ki_ at a time."

"_Hn_," grumbled the cranky Genkai. "You're right. That good-for-nothing might do you more harm than good!"

A chuckle escaped Kurama's lips. _Genkai_-shihan_. Always so hard on Yusuke._ "Besides, _shihan_," he closed his eyes. "I don't want to involve him any more than I have. He wouldn't cooperate anyway."

"He's not taking things seriously again, isn't he?" Genkai raised her own cup to her lips and took a sip of tea. "Why, what does he take your enemy for?"

Kurama took long—too long—to respond.

"A potential lover."

"Ha!" A laugh burst out of the old lady. She plopped her teacup onto her floor. "Just because the enemy's a girl! Why, he oughta be ashamed of himself—he's already engaged to Keiko-_chan_!"

Kurama shook his head. "Not his, _shihan_."

Genkai stopped, a questioning frown crumpling her face.

"Mine."

She crossed her arms before her chest once more and nodded in dead seriousness. "I don't see why not."

_Nani?_ Green eyes widened. "_Shihan_—"

"You suspect she's a cross between a _ningen_ and something else, don't you?" rasped the martial arts master. "Well, so are you. And I don't think you've ever forgotten that. She's saved you the trouble of looking around, Kurama. I hate to admit it, but I'd have to agree with that bonehead, for once. Unless of course you're more interested in someday mating with a full human—"

"That is far from my mind, _shihan_," objected Kurama, finding himself having risen from his knees and almost standing up. "In fact, that isn't in my mind at all—"

"How special."

Kurama froze, a lump caught in his throat and a bead of sweat trickling down his brow.

"She makes you nervous." A knowing smirk twisting her lips, Genkai took another sip of tea. "I've never seen you like that before, Kurama. All tense just thinking of a girl."

He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Someone from my past."

"_Hn_?"

"She could be someone from my past, Genkai-_shihan_. But I just can't remember." A fist clenched by his side. "And I can assure you she will never tell me, either. She's passed up too many opportunities by now."

"Of course she won't force you to remember!"

Kurama blinked. _"Force" me…?_

"She's a woman! She won't force herself on you! You'll have to remember her on your own!"

His own thoughts all came back to him. _Tokime… "Maiden of Time"… Maiden… A woman._

With the dynamic energy of a hyperactive child, Genkai sprung to her feet and placed the scroll on the floor in between them.

"Don't screw this up, Kurama. Trust me—I know what it's like to let the one get away. It sucks," spat a reluctantly reminiscing, bitterly disgruntled Genkai. "Heck, he became the death of me!"

Kurama rose to his feet as well, green eyes clouding in thought. _Sou ka… She and the younger Toguro shared a tragic end._

"Now let's get this memory booster pack of yours open!"

* * *

"_Ara_," Shiori shot her thirtieth glance at their living room wall clock in one minute. "It's getting late. Where could he be?"

"'_Ba-san_, calm down, _onegai_," advised Setsu, absently chewing on the tip of a pen. "Not even _'Ji-san_ and _itoko_ are home yet."

"But what if Shuuichi doesn't come home tonight—"

"Shiori-_'ba-san_, I believe that you need to be told: Minamino-_sempai_ is a grown man now. You may not agree with me because you've known him since he _wasn't_ yet, but I trust that he can take care of himself out there. You should trust him, too. _Ne_?"

Shiori finally sank onto the living room couch and heaved a soft sigh. "You're right, Setsuki-_chan_. I just can't stop myself from worrying…"

"Nothing inherently wrong with that, really." Setsu smiled at her cousin's stepmother, dimples shyly revealing themselves on the corners of her cheeks. "But I hope you always remember, _'Ba-san_, that he doesn't need your worry. He needs you to believe in him."

_As I do. _

_He'll save me._

Suddenly, the telephone on the side table rang.

"_Ne_, that could be _sempai_."

The normally graceful Shiori nearly bolted up from the sofa just to pick up the receiver, tension stiffening her fingers.

"Ah, Shuuichi! It's you!" cried the once restless mother, now overjoyed from great relief. "No, I'm all right… I wasn't lonely… Setsuki-_chan_ has been keeping me company all day… No, Kazuyu-_sama_ and Shuuichi-_kun_ are not yet here. They're running late, too. What time are you… Oh. I see. Are you safe, Shuuichi? I just want to make sure… Yes, I really _am_ all right, Shuuichi. I just want to make sure that _you_ are…"

Eavesdropping on Shiori's end of the conversation, Setsu closed her eyes. A blurred vision of an old martial arts temple by the mountains and the sea surfaced in her mind.

_So you're a train ride away._

"You're sleeping over at a friend's tonight? Do you have any clothes with you? No?" Shiori lightly laughed into the receiver. "Maintain proper hygiene, Shuuichi! I wouldn't want any son of mine smelling bad in someone else's home, okay?"

_And you're staying there tonight, then._

A chuckle escaped Setsu's lips.

_So you trust me with your family now,_ ne_? That's comforting to know. Maybe next time you will finally realize that I…_

She knuckled her own temple.

_Oh, don't even_ think _about it!_

* * *

"I don't give a rat's ass what his excuse is," spat Genkai between gritted teeth, still holding her hands up before the scroll. "That Koenma better quit being a baby and spill the beans."

"He seemed surprised that I know of the existence of Eternals," Kurama pointed out, more beads of sweat trickling down his brow. Even with their combined _reiki_, the enchanted spool still would not unravel. "Any inside information on them, _shihan_?"

"Nope. Never heard of them in my life."

A gasp caught in Kurama's throat. Throughout her years as a warrior, Genkai had gathered more insider intelligence on all worlds than any other human being to have ever lived. The Eternals should have struck her as even just remotely familiar. Were they truly a secret society known to no one else but _Reikai_ royalty?

Kurama concentrated even harder, withdrawing all his _youki_ while summoning all his _reiki_ to his hands. A single trace of demonic energy could sabotage all their chances of success.

Was the scroll a spiritual energy vacuum? Genkai could feel more and more of her strength being sapped—sucked!—away from her by the split second. "Kurama, why don't you just ask your little 'friend' to come here and lend us a hand or two?"

"Just a little more, _shihan_," insisted Kurama, green eyes widening to the sight of the scroll suddenly unfolding and rolling out to its full length.

Both of them gasped.

It was blank.

* * *

"_How do you live with it,_ youkai_?"_

Standing on a rock ten times his size, Hiei harrumphed to himself. That irritating voice. It still rang clearly—too clearly—in his ears.

"_How do you live with yourself—to get what you asked for, but never have what you wanted?"_

Powerful ocean waves violently crashed into the very rock beneath his feet, spitting salty sea foam onto his face. He withdrew his _katana_ from its sheath and eyed the shiny gleam of the blade against the moonlight.

"_To get what you asked for, but never have what you wanted?"_

He studied his sword more closely and met eye to eye with the mirror image of his _jagan_.

"What I asked for…"

Suddenly, in the glint of the blade appeared the face of the beautiful _koorime_ for whom he had endured the immeasurable pain and danger of having a _jagan_ implantation. In exchange for the all-seeing eye, he had sworn to Shigure by his own blood that Yukina shall never know the true identity of her twin brother. Until now, he kept his word.

"Never have what I wanted…"

To obtain the _jagan_ he asked for, he had to vow never to give himself away to her for as long as they lived. He got what he asked for, but…

"_How do you live with yourself—to get what you asked for, but never have what you wanted?"_ That wretched voice echoed once more in his mind.

He could not take any more. The _jaganshi_ swung his sword and sliced the air around him, adamantly refusing to even admit to himself that he was trying to figure out that insufferable _ningen_'s words.

What did _she_ ask for? What did she ask for that she eventually got? But what else did she truly want? What else did she truly want, but could never have?

And what did it all have to do with Kurama?

A passionate battle cry exploding from his lips, Hiei split the very rock he stood on in half.

* * *

He held it atop a boiling tea kettle, but the steam did not reveal the cryptic cipher in the scroll. Smoke fumes were also of no use. As for actual fire, he would rather not take the risk of actually setting the manuscript aflame.

He diluted one corner of the scroll in pond water. Just one corner. He knew that if it didn't work, the water could smear, blur, or distort the hidden writing altogether.

_If there is a hidden writing at all,_ Kurama reminded himself. _But there has to be!_

Genkai slid the temple door to the side, carrying a tray of ink bottles and paintbrushes.

Still kneeling before the unfurled scroll, Kurama looked up. "Were you once a calligrapher, _shihan_?"

The elderly woman casually set down the tray by his side. "When you spend your years training for battle, Kurama, you never get to learn the art of fancy handwriting." She smirked. "Besides, I wasn't born into the time of ballpoint pens. This was all we got."

Kurama recognized the joke, but took no time to laugh. He eyed the inkpot nearest him. "If my guess is right…"

He reached for the ink bottle and tipped it onto a corner of the scroll. The viscous black fluid poured out of the bottleneck and right onto the page.

A gasp escaped Genkai's lips. What if the text in that corner would get covered up in ink forever? Just what was Kurama thinking?

The serious, uncommunicative problem-solver flipped the corner upside down. He found a black squiggle beneath the ink blot. It had never been there before.

He shook his head to himself. _Thicker._

"_Shihan_, I know what to do now. You may rest for the night."

"_Hn_?" The old woman blinked, but turned her heels to leave without hesitation. "Well, I'll be in the next room if you need me." She slid the temple door open once more, poised to close it behind her. "Try not to need me."

* * *

In the full-length mirror, a young man with long crimson hair held his right pointer finger above the scroll sprawled before him. His left pointer and thumb pinched his right fingertip, forcing blood from a recent paper cut to drop onto the page.

Soft brown eyes tore away from the glass.

"He's got a beautiful mind, that darling of yours. He figured out how to read the letter Father wrote to us. You certainly are in trouble now, my dear, foolish _imouto_."

* * *

Green eyes danced in tacit excitement. _It's working!_

He tightened his grip on his Rose Whip, half the length of which was wrapped around his right hand. As its jagged thorns pricked deeper and deeper into his hand, he poured more and more of his blood onto the page. Soon enough, the letters in the unrolled scroll emerged in white amidst the pool of dark red. _They were embossed, only to be read by spilling blood. These Eternals mean business._

Kurama stood back to admire the text in the ancient manuscript, now finally visible in its untainted entirety. A gasp escaped his lips.

_These characters… What alphabet is this?_

* * *

Jorge forced a nervous gulp down his throat. "Not to question your judgment, sir, but couldn't you have just answered Kurama-_san_'s questions?" The blue ogre scratched his head, right by his horn. "He even came all this way to just to ask them!"

"No matter how smart he is, he'd be a fool to mess with them." The royal toddler glared at his aide. "The Eternals. They could kill him whenever they want!"

"But Koenma-_sama_, I've never even heard of them before!" cried the muscled monster. "Do they really exist?"

"You know that powerful thing on Hiei's forehead?"

Jorge's eyes widened. "The _jagan_, Koenma-_sama_?"

"_Sono toori_." His baby arms crossed before his chest, Koenma nodded. "It's an eye! So naturally, it was in someone else's body before it was implanted in Hiei!"

A gasp burst out of the ogre's throat. "You mean—!"

"Jorge, the power of the _jagan_ is only a fraction—a mere sample!—of the full power of the Eternal."

Koenma closed his eyes.

"The _jagan_ is the eye of an Eternal!"

* * *

Genkai yawned loudly. "You better boil me a new kettle of tea for this! Even _kanji_?"

"_Sou_," nodded Kurama. "I need you to write down the alphabetic characters of every language and script you know. I am doing the same."

Old, tired brown eyes studied the raised lines, curves, and grooves standing out of the now bloodied scroll. "Kurama, these letters don't look like any alphabet I've ever seen!"

"They could be picture symbols instead of letters," Kurama pointed out as he wrote. "Like the hieroglyphics of Egypt. Some characters resemble the _kanji_ of China, the Sanskrit of India…" He stopped. "Even the ancient orthography of _Makai_, long before the days of Raizen!"

The old lady grimaced. What a melting pot of languages! Was this text they were trying to decipher dated back to even before the birth of the written word itself? This was going to be a massive headache.

"Whoever wrote this…" began a distracted Kurama preoccupied with jotting down the entire _Makai_ writing system as he knew it. "Whoever wrote this was familiar with _all_ alphabets to have ever existed—not only in _Ningenkai_, but in _all_ worlds!"

He placed his compilation of alphabets side by side, comparing and contrasting them to the characters in the yet incomprehensible script. "Pre-Raizen _Makai_. Contemporary _Makai_. Ancient _Reikai_. _Kanji_. _Katakana_. _Hiragana_. _Furigana_. Sanskrit. Latin. German. French. Arabic. Portuguese…"

_Stealing scrolls… Cracking codes…_

He sighed to himself.

_This takes me back to those days._

* * *

Invisible, colorless eyes widened. A gasp escaped inexistent lips.

"_You thief_," cried an inaudible voice. "_Man, you're good!_"

The floating being watched Kurama over his shoulder closely as he overlapped papers on top of each other, mentally piecing which two, three, four, or more alphabetic characters together formed one graphic symbol on the scroll. He had already transliterated the first letter. M.

"_Guess you'll be up all night, huh?_"

An imaginary robe billowing by weightless feet hovered above the experienced decipherer, nearly but never brushing against him.

"_Don't worry. I'll stay right here."_

The unseen, unfelt entity drifted close by him, smiling every now and then.

* * *

Green eyes danced with unspoken, unspeakable joy.

Kurama silently read and reread the now full translation of the scripture in his own handwriting:

"My children—my son-daughters—my daughter-sons—

I am your father. Your mother is the very Earth on which you stand. Trust her. For as long as she exists, so shall you.

Three of you were born of us. But only two of you remain. My second-born child—you have fulfilled your duty to all of humankind, demonkind, and spiritkind. In dying, you enable all else to live.

My first- and last-born—you once had a brother, born one moment between both of you. Honor him. Worship him as _Kyou_, your fellow God among us Deities of the Spirit World. He was, is, and shall forever be God of the Present. 'Now' exists because of him. He keeps everything alive. But in so doing, he himself is dead. He has been summoned. He has heard his name. He now rests in peace.

The two of you—my son-daughters, my daughter-sons—fortunately you have not yet been summoned. Until that day, you are to remain disembodied, formless spirits with neither name nor face. But never be summoned! For the day you are summoned is the day you earn your place beside your brother Kyou! Until then, you shall live. But the lives you shall live are not and never to be that of all else.

My first-born—Deity of the Future, of Fortune, of Chance, of Providence—in your hands lie the very fate of all humankind, demonkind, and spiritkind. You and you alone determine all that is to come, all that is to transpire a moment after the 'Now' that your brother Kyou has so sacrificed for you all to have. Weave the tapestry of futurity with utmost care, my daughter-son, my son-daughter. Let no one cloud or change what you see to be.

My last-born—Deity of the Past, of History, of Bygone, of Old—in your hands lie the bank of sensation and experience of all humankind, demonkind, and spiritkind. You and you alone are capable of flawless, faultless recall of all that has already transpired from the very birth of the universe and all worlds until a moment before the 'Now' that your brother Kyou has so sacrificed for you all to have. Write the tome of historicity with utmost care, my daughter-son, my son-daughter. Let no one cloud or change what you see has already been.

My son-daughters, my daughter-sons—let yourselves be worshipped, by one and by all, from the creature of least worth in all worlds to Enma Daiou Himself. He shall want you—both of you—by His side. You are invaluable to Him. You are to be authors of His records: life reports, death reports, history reports, more. You are to lead a life of no other than this—recorders of past and future, always and forever.

Never are you to see the light of day nor dark of night. Never are you to meet all else spare the Royal Family of the Spirit World. Only They are in true need of your services. Forbidden are you to deal with all other beings to have ever existed and to ever exist hereafter, lest you face the cruelest condemnation of all. Even to us The Divine, Enma Daiou shall not hesitate to bequeath infinite damnation.

We are Eternals, all of us, and this is our life. Formless. Faceless. Nameless. Revered. The more you are worshipped, the more powerful you shall become. The less you are worshipped, the weaker you shall grow. Your powers are entirely at your disposal. But once you are summoned, you are to gain a name and a face, and be stripped of your powers forever.

I fear to learn of your sexes, my daughter-sons, my son-daughters. I fear to see your form and face. Then shall I know that you have lost your Divinity—you have fallen into the trap—your constitutions have grown weak and succumbed to mortal desire.

Feel nothing! Favor no one! Then and only then could you perform your duties to the full. Let no one summon you, and you shall remain immortal for as long as I live!

—Time"

Suddenly, the sliding temple door opened once more.

"How's it coming along, Ku—"

Genkai froze.

The cryptanalyst looked up from his version of the text in the sacred scroll. "_Shihan_, what's wrong—"

"Kurama!" Aged, weary brown eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

Peacefully looking over Kurama's shoulder was none other than the younger Toguro.

* * *

"_Kurama, is your 'friend' a shape-shifter?" Despite her crossed arms and fearless front, Genkai quietly shuddered to herself._

"_I haven't witnessed it for myself, but I have reason to believe so," Kurama nodded. "Kuwabara_-kun _seems to have seen her as someone else."_

"_Does she change into the form of someone you_ know_?"_

Kurama blinked. _Genkai_-shihan _must have seen someone at that moment and thought it was her. Who was it? And why didn't she want to tell me?_

He turned the knob and pushed the door open.

"_Tadaima_," he called out to the woman sitting on the couch. "_'Kaa-san_."

Shiori took a deep breath and rose to meet her son by the front door. "_Okaeri nasai_, Shuuichi." Something was… different… about her. Her typically warm maternal smile now seemed a little… unnatural. Forced. "Did you have fun at your friend's?"

Kurama studied the dark circles under his mother's eyes. _She must have been worried about me._

* * *

"Notebooks…" The girl with long black hair and glittering brown eyes ticked off an item in her shopping list. "Check!"

Nami eyed the contents of the basket hanging by the crook of her arm and crossed off more items in her list. "Highlighter, check! Post-It Notes, check!" She whirled to face her best friend. "Setsu-_chan_, are you done shopping for _your_ school sup—" She blinked. "Hey, where did you go?"

A denim blue cap tilted down and hiding the short-haired brunette from the world, Setsu buried her nose in a glossy paperback two bookshelves away.

"'_Men's Health_'," Nami slowly, carefully read the cover aloud in English, her L sounding more like an R in spite of her conscious effort not to roll her tongue. "Setsu-_chan_, why are you interested in something featuring men's bodies…?" The girl with the shopping basket on her arm leaned closer to her best friend, peering inside the magazine spread. Suddenly she lurched away from Setsu, her basket nearly toppling over. "_EEEHHHHH_?"

"What?" Setsu blinked from behind the glossy spread, a flush of giddy intoxication pinking her cheeks.

Nami snatched the _Men's Health_ issue from Setsu's hands to reveal the real softbound the blushing girl was reading: a graphic novel with two sizzling hot _bishounen_ gracing the cover. A tall, beautiful young man with long hair lovingly cradled a shorter, muscular young man in his arms, planting a soft kiss on his neck.

"SETSU-_CHAN_, YOU'RE READING _THAT_ STUFF AGAIN!"

"The art is exquisite." Blue eyes glittered, never once shying away from the hardcore _yaoi manga_. "Besides, I haven't mastered how to draw _these_ positions yet. And the _uke_ in this one is very flexible. He makes it all look so easy…"

"You _fujoshi_!" Nami shook her head. "I just hope you don't read that smut in front of Hagiri-_kun_!"

A naughty smile lit Setsu's face, dimples shyly revealing themselves on the corners of her cheeks. She grabbed the heap of _yaoi_ _manga_ she had set aside and strode alongside Nami. "I don't _read_ it. I _draw_ it. It bothers him, but he's cute when he's bothered anyway." She laughed to herself. "Have you found all the stuff on your list yet?"

"_Un_!" Nami nodded enthusiastically. "Aren't _you_ going to buy any school supplies for this coming school year, Setsu-_chan_? We're about to enter college! You should bring _new_ things to school!"

"I don't need new things," Setsu dismissed the matter with a wave of the hand. "I've already recycled my old notebooks. They still have enough blank pages left in them."

"You're really thrifty with money, you know that?"

A suddenly _chibi_ Setsu shook her head. "_Iie_." She plopped her pile of select hardcore _yaoi_ _manga_ onto the cashier counter and pulled her wallet out of her back jeans pocket. "Not really."

"Ohhh, no you don't!" cried a _chibi_ Nami, picking up the stack of racy comic books and tossing them far, far away. "School supplies, Setsu-_chan_! Not gay porn!"

A comically mortified _chibi_ Setsu cried dry tears of sorrow and pain, longingly reached out towards the graphic novels that had disappeared in the distance, and moaned. "My _babies_…"

* * *

"_Hai_." Kurama spoke into the telephone receiver. "Minamino _desu_."

"Wow! Your voice is nice!" A melodious soprano gasped into his listening ear. "Is Setsu-_chan_ there yet?"

_Who is this?_ He blinked. "_Iiya_. She's been out all day with a friend."

"That's me!" Kurama could practically imagine the girl on the other end nodding repeatedly. "I'm Nami!" All of a sudden, the lively voice toned down. "I just had a feeling she wasn't back there yet. She doesn't get lost going places, and I know she can take care of herself, but still, it's getting dark outside…"

"I understand."

"Maybe she just took the long way back there. Or maybe she went back to her own home. Do _you_ know where she could be?"

Suddenly, a string of words echoed in his ears.

"_I wanted to show you where I go when no one knows where I am."_

Kurama tightened his grip on the receiver. "_Aa_. I have an idea."

* * *

"_Ne_, _yuri-tachi_," a head of cluttered sandy brown hair hung low. She was on her knees, gripping her cap while speaking to the twin lilies again. "He's coming closer and closer now."

"Did they come out at sundown?"

A gasp escaped Setsu's lips. _He followed me. Again._

"The butterflies."

She was indeed where Kurama knew she was. She donned her cap, rose to her feet, and whirled to face him. "As they always do. _Sempai_, you didn't have to—" She stopped upon discovering the bouquet of assorted flowers in his hand. "—follow me. You didn't have to bring those, either."

_No roses._ She noted to herself. _How thoughtful._

"You were about to see her, weren't you?"

Setsu nodded under her cap, too faintly for anyone else to see.

"You don't always have to visit her grave alone, Mayonaka-_san_."

Sky blue eyes looked up at grass green.

_The kinder you are to me, the more I can't stay away from you._

"I know, _sempai_."

_Don't make my life even more difficult,_ onegai_. I already got what I asked for. So I'm doomed to never have what I wanted._

"Shall we go?" Kurama smiled.

A calloused fist clenched in secret. _Never._

* * *

Kurama shut the wrought iron gates of the Yukimi City Memorial Garden behind him and stuffed his hands into his pants pockets.

"That tree beside her," he pointed out to the girl striding alongside him, her head hung low. "It swayed with the wind."

"It _was_ especially windy there," Setsu nodded, a tranquil loneliness crossing her face. "_Haha_ must have been delighted to see you again."

"Doesn't your father visit her?"

Setsu froze for a split second. Did Kurama really just ask about her family? Was he simply humoring her, or was he actually trying to get to know her better?

"_Iie_," she shook her head slowly. "Before she died, she made him promise that the only time he could pay her a visit is when he introduces her to his _new_ wife." She chuckled at the thought of her parents discussing death and remarriage so casually. "But he's never even bothered to look for someone new. So that's why I go see her without him."

Kurama gazed into those cold, distant eyes never once meeting his.

_This_ ningen… He pulled his hand out of his pocket. _Her sadness…_

_Can't she just tell me everything…?_

Suddenly, she felt a strong yet gentle hand clap onto her shoulder.

"Take us with you sometime."

She looked up from beneath her cap and faced him squarely. "_Nani_?"

"_Otouto_ should visit his aunt once in a while." The sweetest, sincerest smile graced Kurama's lips. "_'Tou-san_ should also take some time off to see his sister. And I'm sure _'Kaa-san_ would like to meet her as well."

The ice in those glacial eyes melted before his own.

"That's truly kind of you, _sempai_, but don't you think we should ask _them_ first—"

"If they have prior engagements, _I_ will go with you." _Open yourself to me, Mayonaka_-san_. Let down your defenses. Hiei has, and I don't think he regrets it. Well, maybe once or twice._ "Just tell me when."

They came to an intersection just when the pedestrian stoplight changed from red to green.

Setsu clasped her hands behind her back and crossed the street. "_Hn_. Really so altruistic. I can see why Kitajima-_san_ hasn't forgotten you yet."

_Kitajima…?_

Green eyes darted left and right, checking and double-checking for any incoming, passing vehicles in sight. None. He stepped onto the pedestrian lane to join her.

"You like her, _ne_?"

At that moment, a speeding delivery truck suddenly emerged from the distance. Kurama heard the strain of its engine and the screech of its tires just as the suffocating smell of scorching rubber wafted closer and closer. The truck zigzagged out of control, steering right towards them.

Kurama sprung to his feet, grabbed Setsu by the wrist, and yanked her away from the path of the pickup truck. "Mayonaka-_san_!"

"Mina—" Setsu slammed into his chest the very split second the cargo truck crashed into the wall across the street. Her blue sports cap flew off her head and flopped onto the pavement.

Kurama panted heavily, a bead of sweat trickling down his brow and splashing onto Setsu's scalp. The bridge of her nose slid down his chin, her lips lightly brushing against his Adam's apple. He felt short, clipped huff after puff of human breath warming his throat.

_This heat!_ He bit back a gasp. _The last time I felt this, I turned into—!_

"_Sempai_." Setsu stammered slowly at first, drawing her face away from his and looking him straight in the eye. "_Sempai_," she called out again, this time with more urgency. "Minamino-_sempai_!"

Green eyes went blank.

"_Kurama."_

_An airy, ethereal voice beckoned to him. It was female, or at least ladylike. Educated. Gentle. Serene. Young. The voice of a child._

_No. The choir of angels._

"_Kurama," cried those same dry, broken lips. A pale right hand with a ghastly scar across its palm inched closer and closer to his face and reached behind his ear. He felt it—the tangible warmth of that intangible body, invisible to everyone else but him. That ghost of a hand was real… real enough to caress his ear. "Kurama!"_

"That driver, _sempai_!"

Kurama snapped out of his reverie and back to reality.

"We need to get him to a hospital!"

Setsu broke free of his arms and dashed towards the smashed truck, wrestling to open its driver's door now dented and bent from the sudden collision.

Kurama's eyes wandered from the metal hood and fender of the cargo truck now crumpled like a flimsy sheet of paper to the girl who had finally managed to fling the driver's door wide open, the bleeding, unconscious man collapsing into her arms.

_Touching her…_

His head reeling more than ever, the demon-human winced to himself, raring to clap his hand over his face, but resisting even more.

_So many visions…_

* * *

She could not stand still.

Her back and one nervously jiggling foot leaning against the hospital wall, Setsu heard familiar footsteps drawing closer from the east wing and finally opened her eyes.

"How is he?"

His hands jammed into his pants pockets, Kurama shook his head. "A few cuts and bruises, but his legs were crushed under the grill of the truck." He hung his head low, hiding emerald eyes beneath crimson hair. "He might not walk again."

_Oh, no._ A loud gasp escaped Setsu's throat. "What exactly happened?"

"He didn't hit the brakes in time."

"Maybe they weren't working," Setsu offered as explanation. "Maybe he stepped on them, but they just didn't work. He must have seen the red light on his side. It was _our_ turn to cross the street that time—"

"His brakes were fine."

_Are you saying that it was entirely_ his _fault…?_

"He just forgot how to drive."

A calloused fist clenched in secret. _Iie. This can't be happening. It shouldn't. I shouldn't allow it!_ "But that doesn't make sense, _sempai_! You yourself drive, _ne_? Would _you_ ever just suddenly 'forget' all that you know about driving?"

"He himself said so, Mayonaka-_san_. He thought he was stepping on the brake, but he was really stepping on the accelerator."

"Maybe he was just tired. Sleepy. Hungry. He wasn't thinking straight!" Setsu fired possibility after possibility, simply refusing to accept Kurama's words. "But he couldn't have just… _forgotten_… how to drive altogether!"

"As unlikely as it sounds, he might be right," he sighed. "He has even forgotten what the steering wheel is called. He simply referred to it as 'that round thing'."

"_Sempai_, that's…"

_I've become too careless. I'm slipping up. He didn't deserve what had happened to him. I shouldn't have allowed it to happen!_

"You shouldn't take it too hard, Mayonaka-_san_. It wasn't your fault."

She tipped her cap down and bit her lip.

_Oh, but it was._

* * *

_The confrontation at her mother's grave… That near miss just a few hours ago… They're threats to her life…!_

It was yet another sleepless night. Kurama helped himself to another glass of water.

_Could she not be the enemy after all, but… the_ target_?_

"Can't sleep, _sempai_?"

He froze. _She's awake!_ The startled Kurama whirled to face the family guest slumped face-first onto their dining table. He flicked the room light on and found her hunched over on her dining chair, her arms tightly wrapped around her torso.

"What's wrong?"

She turned her head to the side to free her face of the table, revealing especially dark circles under her eyes. Her face was drained of color. Loose brown strands tumbled from behind her ear across her cheek. "I'm fine."

_Liar,_ accused Kurama inwardly, yet his outward expression never flinched. _You don't look it at all._ "_Iiya_. You're in pain."

"_Sempai_, what part of 'I'm fine' didn't you understa—"

"Shall I carry you to bed?"

Just then, all color returned to her cheeks. "_Iie_. You don't have to. In fact, I'd rather not get up at all."

_Are you… paralyzed?_ "Mayonaka-_san_, it will ease with rest—"

"But it just won't let me rest," Setsu smiled weakly, her cheek still rammed against the hardwood table. She hugged herself even more tightly, gingerly running her hands between her hips. "Go to sleep, _sempai_. _Onegai_. I'm used to this anyway. I put up with this every month."

He blinked. _Every month…?_

Suddenly, Kurama turned his back on her and strode to the kitchen stove.

* * *

Her elbows propped up on the table to keep herself from collapsing face-first onto it again, Setsu raised the cup to her lips and took a sip. Her elbows nearly slipped off the dining table. _Boy, this is strong!_ Bitterer than even the bitterest gourd and root in the Human World, the provocative taste lingered in her mouth. _What was this made from, a_ Makai _healing herb that you grow?_

"I should warn you, Mayonaka-_san_, it's quite bitter—"

"I noticed," mumbled a suddenly swollen tongue.

"—but it should relieve you right away." Kurama set the kettle onto the stove, slipped the kitchen glove off his hand, and pulled up the dining chair across hers. "I prepare that tea for _'Kaa-san_ as well, when _she_ has those cramps."

Setsu fell silent, her face contorting into a sour, awful mess. _This. Is. So. Awkward!_

"Feeling better?"

"I hate being female."

A chuckle escaped Kurama's lips. Her randomness had worn off on him by now.

"You would have been a strapping gentleman, Mayonaka-_san_," he laughed, covering his lips with his hand.

A blue gaze fell. _Someday you will know just why I was born female. Before I die, I'll make sure of that._

"But Hagiri-_kun_ would have been disappointed."

Blue eyes studied green closely. _You always take_ him _into account,_ ne_? Sometimes I believe that you think of him even more than I do._ "He would have hated me, _sempai_."

Setsu reached for a rectangular box across the dining table. She opened the flaps of one end, and a deck of playing cards slipped out of the package.

"What makes you say that?" Kurama eyed the pack of cards in her hands. "What would you like to play?"

"It's a long story. You're _really_ not sleepy yet, _ne_?"

He shook his head.

"I hope you don't mind Old Maid."

* * *

"Yusuke, Kuwabara-_kun_, and I used to play this with our other friends during our spare time." Kurama put down two kings onto the cluttered pile of paired-up cards on the smack middle of the dining table. _Spare time… After surviving another round of the Dark Tournament._

Setsu threw the three of clubs and the three of hearts onto the same heap. "Let me guess, _sempai_. You won all the time."

"Not _all_ the time." He picked two nines from his hand and placed them atop the pool of cards. "How about you?"

"I suck," she said flatly. She tugged an ace out of his hand, paired it off with the lone ace in hers, and tossed them away. "Or maybe I always lose because the only person I ever play with is the very one who taught me to play in the first place."

He drew a queen from her hand and joined it with his. "Would that be…?"

"You would be right."

_Reading my mind again?_ Kurama eyed her curiously. _If you could indeed, then you should always win your card games._

"Ame-_kun_ taught me a lot of things," she yanked a nine out of his hand, found a nine of another suit in her own, and pitched them aside. "Mostly games. He always wants us to have fun when we're together."

"A thoughtful man."

"Far from the 'Sniper' you met, _ne_?"

Kurama froze. _She knows—!_

"Relax, _sempai_. It's all in the past." Setsu held up the three remaining cards in her hands. "That monster Sensui brainwashed him. I didn't support him at all."

Kurama chose the card in the middle. He turned it over and found the five of diamonds. But there was no five among the cards in his hand. _This is the Old Maid._

"Did he hurt you back then, _sempai_?"

_Just how much do you know? You might even already know the answer to that question._ He held up his remaining cards, including the five of diamonds. "_Iiya_."

"That's good to hear." Setsu absent-mindedly plucked out the five of diamonds from his hand and froze. "_Hn_. I believe that _both of us_ now know which card is the Old Maid." She hid her cards under the dining table and shuffled them repeatedly. "We didn't always get along, _sempai_. Ame-_kun_ and I."

_You seem troubled._ Kurama blinked.

Her sandy brown hair hiding blue eyes, Setsu brandished her cards before Kurama again. He selected the one on the far right this time. A ten. He had a ten with him. Good. "Is something bothering you, Mayonaka-_san_?"

"Well, aside from the fact that I'm losing this game," she chuckled at her own misfortune. "A few days ago, he was trying to convince me not to go to college."

_Not to go…?_ Kurama looked up. "But why?"

"He would rather that I…" She picked out the four in his hand and paired it off with her own. "… go wherever _he_ goes."

Green eyes narrowed. _A marriage proposal?_ "Mayonaka-_san_, was that his way of asking for your hand…?"

"I…"

Lost blue orbs searched him for the answer to that very question.

"… don't know."

"Have you decided?"

Setsu held up one card in each hand: the five of diamonds on her right hand, and the eight of spades on her left. Kurama reached for the card on her left, but she would not release it from her grip.

"What do you believe I should do?"

Kurama stopped. _Is this your way of revealing yourself to me?_ "Do you want to go with him?"

She took long to respond.

"… I see myself attending college."

"You and Hagiri-_kun_ are like _'Kaa-san_ and me. He should be happy with whatever makes you happy." The same sweet, sincere smile from earlier graced his lips once again. "If he truly loves you, he should respect your decision."

Setsu finally let go of the eight of spades.

"He should, _ne_?"

Kurama found a black eight to go with his red eight. He had won the card game.

"But if I don't go with him, he might really leave. Without me." Setsu stared at the five of diamonds still between her right pointer and thumb. "I'll become an 'old maid' not just in this game, but in real life." She chuckled to herself. "Nothing inherently wrong with that. But I've known him for so long that it might take some time for me to get used to being alone."

A strong yet gentle hand inched closer and took the Old Maid card away from her own.

"You're not alone, Mayonaka-_san_."

With a quick flick of the wrist, Kurama threw the card away.

_Not even right now._

* * *

The metal doors of the elevator parted and led to the eighth floor of the high-rise condominium tower. Setsu adjusted the shoulder straps of her backpack and stepped out of the platform.

_I never knew two weeks away from home could feel so long. Even if I called him every day…_ She stopped before a door and took a deep breath. _Has he been eating properly?_

She pressed her knuckles against the door and knocked. Nothing.

"_Hn_?" Setsu tried the knob. It turned all the way. "How could he leave the door unlocked if he isn't even here—"

POP! POP! BANG!

Party poppers exploded. Colorful, curly strips of confetti flew everywhere.

"SURPRIIIIISE~!"

Setsu staggered back at the sight of her own father in a cone-shaped party hat. _Whatever possessed him to wear_ that_?_

Suddenly, two women on either side of Mayonaka Tsuzuku threw themselves at her and trapped her in an especially big, three-way bear hug.

"SETSU-_CHAN_!" exclaimed both Akasaki Minaku and her just as bubbly mother, Mikuru. "OKAERIIIII~!"

They didn't mean to, but their arms were strangling her neck more and more by the second. "Akasaki-_san_, Nami-_chan_…" she managed to sputter in between cracked, clipped chokes. "_Tadaima_…"

"All right, Akasaki-_tachi_, I think she gets the point," Setsu's father sweat-dropped, peeling his two houseguests off his daughter. "How was life without me, Kisetsu?"

Setsu softly gasped for breath, rubbing her neck gingerly. "Do you _really_ want me to answer that?"

"She bonded with her cousin Shuuichi!" supplied Nami, squeezing her best friend close and cuddling against her cheek. "And that other boy who lives in her cousin's house! I heard him on the phone! His voice was so _nice_!"

_Did both your mother and my father just_ have _to know that, Nami_-chan_?_ An exasperated Setsu knuckled her own forehead.

"Is that so?" A curious, cheerful Mikuru joined in. "Whose voice is nicer? His or Hagiri-_kun_'s?"

A bolt of lightning shot up Setsu's spine. _Sou ka_—even Nami's mother had known of her relationship with Hagiri Kaname for years! _Their voices? That should be none of our business!_

"_His_!" Nami nodded repeatedly, absolute certainty ringing in her voice. "I bet he's even more handsome in person than Hagiri-_kun_! Is he, Setsu-_chan_? Is he?"

"Yes, is he, Kisetsu?" A playful fatherly eyebrow cocked up.

Setsu sighed to herself. _I shouldn't have been so worried after all._

* * *

"_Okaeri nasai_," greeted the soft-spoken Shiori.

Kurama loosened his necktie. "I'm afraid _'Tou-san_ will come home late tonight." He scanned his immediate surroundings. "Is Shuuichi back from school yet? Has Mayonaka-_san_ been keeping you company?"

"Shuuichi," Shiori's gaze fell. "Setsuki-_chan_ already left."

Kurama froze. _She's… not here…?_

"But she gave this to us."

Shiori stepped aside, revealing a full-scale painting hung on the wall behind her.

Kurama beheld the family portrait before his eyes. The oil-based painting rendered all four members of the Minamino-Hatanaka family in rich, vibrant color.

"I like the way she portrayed you, Shuuichi." Endless love in her eyes, Shiori admired the immortalized red-haired, green-eyed young man standing beside his stepfather and behind his biological mother. "You are as lovely in her eyes as you are to me."

He paid close attention to the likeness of his own hand clapped upon the shoulder of the Shiori on canvas. Just when did Mayonaka-_san_ study the hollow of his knuckles? The curve of his nails? The meaning of his touch?

"She drew solo pictures of us, too," added Shiori, her fingers lightly touching her lips. "She left them in our rooms. She also drew the two of us together, Shuuichi. She said we make such a gentle family."

'_Kaa-san and I… gentle…_

"I'm thankful to her, Shuuichi." She closed her eyes and clasped her hands over her heart. "That's why I promised her that I'll talk to you when Kazuyu-_sama_ and Shuuichi aren't around."

"We're alone now, _'Kaa-san_." Kurama guided his mother to the sofa and motioned for her to sit. "What is it?"

'_Kaa-san promised Mayonaka_-san_? Of what?_

"This…" The mother suddenly struggled to speak. "This isn't going to be easy, Shuuichi…"

* * *

"Your stubborn father kept forgetting to eat his _goya_!" Fire in her eyes, Akasaki Mikuru flailed a soup ladle around as she tattled to Setsu. "Minaku and I had to come over once in a while just to make sure he kept himself alive!"

"'Once in a while'?" repeated a secretly amused Mayonaka Tsuzuku with a mixture of disgust and disbelief. "There's a big difference between 'once in a while' and _everyday_—"

"But without Setsu-_chan_ around, you don't keep house, _'Tou-san_!" moaned a jokingly teary Nami. "You don't cook for yourself, you don't clean—"

"He doesn't clean even when I'm here," spat a disapproving Setsu. She turned to the two Akasakis. "Thank you for keeping him company while I was gone. You didn't have to."

"We didn't _have_ to," grinned Mikuru, handing Setsu a bowl of hot _shoyu_ ramen. "But we _wanted_ to."

"'_Tou-san_ was very lonely without you, Setsu-_chan_!" Nami winked at both sarcastic Mayonakas.

Both brunettes darted glances at each other, then just as quickly looked away.

"I didn't." The dark brown eyes of the father closed.

"He didn't." The light blue eyes of the daughter closed as well.

The eldest woman of the three set a bowl of _goya_ soup before the man of the house. "No more pigging out on junk food for you, my dear! That's how you got diabetic in the first place!"

As Nami giggled at the sight of her own mother scolding someone else other than her (for a change), Setsu eyed the first three beings to have ever introduced her to the concept of a human home. _So Akasaki_-san _and Nami_-chan _had been taking good care of_ Oyaji_, then._

_That's comforting to know._

"Setsu-_chan_, Minaku told me you could choose between Meiou _Daigaku_ and Mushiyori National," Mikuru joined her daughter and the two Mayonakas at their dining table. "Have you picked between them yet?"

_But I'm not even sure if I'll attend college at all… Ame_-kun _doesn't want me to…_

Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed in her mind.

"_If he truly loves you, he should respect your decision."_

A secret smile curled her lips.

"I have." She looked squarely at the two Akasakis. "I will attend Meiou with Nami-_chan_."

"_KYAAAAA_!" Both mother and daughter squealed with delight. Nami glomped Setsu again just as Mikuru bolted from her seat.

"That's _great_, Setsu-_chan_!" She clapped her hands and scrambled into Setsu's bedroom. She stormed back with a handful of red and pink undergarments. "I was _hoping_ you'd say that, because Minaku and I already shopped around for you! Here—" She stuffed the intimate apparel into a now scandalized Setsu's face. "—these are in your size, and they go well with the Meiou uniform!"

As her best friend's mother went on and on about how her purchases clash with the Mushiyori color scheme, the shade of Setsu's face matched the color of her new unmentionables. More uncomfortable in her own skin than ever, the humiliated nonhuman resisted all temptation to bang her head on the table—over and over.

Tsuzuku simply laughed at the women surrounding him. "Face it, Kisetsu. I wouldn't know how to buy _those_ for you."

Only Nami's arms around her waist kept Setsu from melting off her chair.

At that moment, she heard him again.

"_You're not alone, Mayonaka_-san_."_

_When you're right, Minamino_-sempai_, you're really_…

Burying her face into her new handful of clothing, Setsu hid suddenly widely grinning lips.

* * *

"I was really scared for you, Shuuichi!" Shiori sobbed into Kurama's shoulder. "I feared for your life!"

Kurama tightened his hold of his human mother.

"I apologize, _'Kaa-san_." Crimson hair fell across emerald eyes. "For everything."

"I'm sorry, too," Shiori pulled away from him and dried her tears with her handkerchief. "This is what you didn't want to happen, isn't it? This is what you didn't want me to do, but I did it anyway. I'm sorry, Shuuichi. I've been so worried…"

"I understand."

_Now would be an opportune time to tell her everything._ Kurama closed his eyes. _But I…_

"Shuuichi?"

… _can't._

"_Hai_, _'Kaa-san_?"

"How long have you and Setsuki-_chan_ known each other?"

A gasp caught in his throat. _I've been wondering about that myself._

"She's a good friend, Shuuichi. I feel…" Shiori looked up, searching for the words that would best express herself. "… she understands you."

_She has even convinced_ you _of that, hasn't she?_

"She told me to trust you no matter what. That no matter what happens to us, you're the first and only biological son I have. Nothing could change that."

_Not even the fact that I am a_ youkai _who merged into the body of your unborn_ ningen_ child…?_

"She also told me not to worry so much about you when you leave me behind." Shiori finally managed to smile again. "When you used to go on your school field trips… When you used to go on your little outings with Yusuke-_kun_, Kuwabara-_kun_, and your other friends… Now that you go to work…"

_Sou._ A green gaze fell. _I_ did _leave you behind very often back then._

"She reminded me that no matter how many times you leave me, I shouldn't worry…"

Shiori's lips curled into the same smile that never failed to reveal Setsu's dimples.

"… because you always come back home."

* * *

Shiori watched her son's back as he ascended the stairs and disappeared into the second floor hallway.

"She knows you well, Shuuichi."

The mother whirled to face the new painting on the wall, gently clasping a hand over her heart.

"She even knows when best to leave you alone."

* * *

_She covered up for me. _

Carrying his coat by the crook of his arm and the handle of his briefcase with his hand, Kurama headed to his room, lost in deep thought.

_However much she knows of me, she didn't tell_ 'Kaa-san _at all._

Suddenly, he caught sight of a piece of paper on the floor, right in between the doors leading to his and his stepbrother's bedrooms.

"You were still out when I left. I miss you, Shuuichi."

_Shuuichi?_ Green eyes shot glances at the doors to his left and right. _Which one did she mean?_

That low, mellow voice rang in his memory. _"Itoko." "Minamino_-sempai_."_

_Both of us? Neither? Just him? Just me?_

* * *

Setsu clutched her toy fox closer to her chest, a torn, once bright yellow but now long bloodied piece of fabric tied around its neck like a scarf.

She looked out her bedroom window, pressing a calloused hand against the glass. That tree in the distance moved with the midsummer night's wind and bathed in the soft light of the moon.

_In fact, I followed you to this world…_

Calloused fingers ran along the cold glass, pretending to touch the tree trunk from afar.

… _because I miss you._

* * *

Kurama looked at her bedroom window, pressing a strong hand against the tree trunk. Those calloused fingers in the distance moved with the midsummer night's wind and bathed in the soft light of the moon.

_You're not my enemy. You might even need me._

Strong fingers ran along the jagged trunk, pretending to touch those calloused fingers from afar.

_How do I protect you? And from whom?_

**Continued  
****THANK YOU so much for reading up to this point!  
Please READ ON!**

This is _it_! The end of the Third Arc of _Never Knew_!  
(If you read the FAQs in Chapter 11 before, you'd know what I mean now. XD)

You might have noticed that I didn't leave an author's note (A/N) in the beginning of this chapter. That was because I wanted you to read the fanfic chapter first before I broke this to you…

By the time you read this, I will have had a major surgical operation. (Its official schedule is at 8 AM on Monday, the 26th of July 2010, time zone GMT.) As I type this, I am confined in the hospital, mere hours away from surgery. (And wincing from the sting of the intravenous drip needle piercing the back of my left hand. T.T) It may not be very appropriate of me to share all this with you. But I've thought about it for more times than I can count, and realized that I've grown so attached to you that it feels… comforting… to let you in on my real life.

Since we're all so used to Kurama spurting blood every time he fights anyway, I don't think any of you are too squeamish for the details: Some foreign object is inside my body, and it needs to be taken out right away. My surgeon still doesn't know what it is. But at least he's sure that it's _not_ malignant or cancerous.

At this point, I wish I were only kidding you, but I'm not. This fanfic is only fantasy. Surgery is my reality. Just in case you were wondering—yes, I won't be able to attend my classes. Only for two, three days, tops. I should be able to start typing Chapter 16 soon. (The plot of this fanfic shall take a more… shall we say, _intimate_… turn. ^-^)

The reason why I posted this chapter later than I should have was because my pain has been debilitating these days. I couldn't type and edit this. Sometimes I can't even move! (It sucks! XS) To think I was still just fine while typing Chapter 14… This is all happening so fast, I still can't believe there's an unknown, indefinable mass stuck to my right liver. I just don't get it! (Did I eat something that was never digested and eventually stayed there all this time? XD)

Let's just laugh this off, okay? ^^ This is all a matter of attitude. So I truly apologize for being the bearer of bad news, but I assure you—everything is fine.

I would still love to receive _reviews_ from you. But this time, I need something else a lot more.

_Prayers_.

I still want to type Chapter 16 onwards.  
(And I'm turning 22 next month. Wouldn't want to miss my own birthday. ^^;)

So yes, I have my laptop with me here in the hospital—their wireless Internet is lightning fast over here! XD Please know that I'll be reading your reviews while lying on my sickbed. As soon as I can sit up properly again, I'll start typing Chapter 16. Okay? ^-^

Thank you. All of you. For everything. I love you all! \^o^/

P.S. Sorry I sound so sappy. XD

**Japanese to English translations and abridged YYH glossary**

_**aa**_, _**sou**_, and _**un**_. Slang for _yes_ and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
_**ame**_. _Rain_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**ara**_. A Japanese expression roughly translated to the English interjections _oh dear_ or _oh my  
_'_**ba-san**_. A contraction of _Oba-san_, a respectful address for one's own _aunt  
__**bishounen**_. _Beautiful young man  
_**-**_**chan**_. An honorific used to address _girls_, _animals_, or anything that the speaker considers to be cute; indicates great closeness or intimacy when used to address _boys  
__**chibi**_. Literally meaning _small / little_ (in size), refers to a Japanese animation style wherein characters are drawn or portrayed with oversized heads and undersized bodies to add a comic relief effect to the current scene  
_**daigaku**_. _University / college  
__**dakara**_. _So / therefore  
__**desu**_. Used in this fic to mean _I am_; a be verb of the Japanese language, the meaning of which differs according to context  
_**dojo**_. _Temple_ or _shrine  
__**eh**_ and _**hn**_. Disfluencies of speech (much like the English _uh_ and _um_), not limited to the Japanese language  
_**fujoshi**_. A girl or woman with an avid interest in the Japanese entertainment genre _yaoi  
__**Genkai**_. _Limit_, used as a name in this fic  
_**gomen**_. _Sorry_, less formal than _gomen nasai  
__**goya**_. _Bitter gourd_ / _bitter melon  
__**Haha**_. An informal address for one's own _mother  
__**hai**_. _Yes  
__**iie**_ and _**iiya**_. Formal and informal _no_, respectively  
_**imouto**_. _Little sister / younger sister  
__**itoko**_. _Cousin  
__**jagan**_. _Third eye_ (not to be referred to as "_jagan_ eye," as that would be redundant)  
_**jaganshi**_. _Master_ of the _jagan  
_'_**ji-san**_. A contraction of _Oji-san_, a respectful address for one's own _uncle  
_'_**kaa-san**_. A contraction of _Okaa-san_, a respectful address for one's own _mother  
__**katana**_. A _sword_ in general; many YYH fans mistake this word to be the name of Hiei's sword, but its actual name is _Jao(u) Ensatsu Ken_ (Sword of the Darkness Flame)  
_**kisetsu**_. _Season_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kitsune**_. _Fox  
__**Koenma**_. _Little Enma / child of Enma_, used as a name in this fic  
_**koorime**_. _Ice maiden_ or a member of the tribe of ice maidens in YYH  
**-**_**kun**_. An honorific used to address _boys_ or boyish girls  
_**Kuwabara**_. _Mulberry field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kyou**_. _Today_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Makai**_. _Demon World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**manga**_. Japanese _comics_, such as YYH  
_**mayonaka**_. _Midnight_, used as a name in this fic  
_**mengo**_. Not an actual Japanese word; Mayonaka Setsuki's version of _sorry_  
_**Minamino**_. _Southern field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**nami**_. _Wave_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**nani**_. _What  
__**ne**_. An expression for seeking confirmation (much like the English tag questions _isn't it_ or _okay_)  
_**ningen**_. _Human / human being  
__**Ningenkai**_. _Human World_ (as opposed to the Demon World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**okaeri**_. _Welcome home_, less formal than _okaeri nasai_; a customary response to _tadaima  
__**onegai**_. _Please_, less formal than _onegaishimasu  
__**otouto**_. _Little brother / younger brother  
__**oyaji**_. _Old man_, used to address one's own father in this fic  
_**Reikai**_. _Spirit World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Demon World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**reiki**_. _Spirit(ual) power_, wielded by _ningen_ (as opposed to _youki_)  
_**-sama**_. An honorific used to address someone very respectfully, like _lord_ or _master_; indicates great submissiveness when a wife uses this to address or refer to her husband  
**-**_**san**_. An honorific used to address someone politely  
**-**_**sempai**_. An honorific used to address an upperclassman  
_**setsu**_. _Opinion_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**-shihan**_. An honorific used to address a female master of a skill or art (such as martial arts) in a formal, archaic manner  
_**shikashi**_. _However  
__**Shiori**_. _Guidebook_, used as a name in this fic  
_**shoyu**_** ramen**. A dish of noodle soup combining chicken (or vegetable) broth and soy sauce, optionally garnished with spring onions, fishcakes, and seaweed, among others; may or may not be served spicy  
_**Shuuichi**_. _Excellence first_, used as a name in this fic  
_**sono toori**_. _That (is) exactly (what I mean / what I am referring to)_; _sono_ is translated as _that_  
_**sou ka**_. _That's right / I just remembered  
_**-**_**tachi**_. A pluralizing suffix (much like the English -s and -es); to be used with discretion because Japanese words can be singular or plural even without it, depending on the context  
_**tadaima**_. _I'm home_, said informally; customarily responded to with _okaeri (nasai)  
__**tantei**_. _Detective_; used in this fic to refer to the _Reikai Tantei _(Spirit Detectives) Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei  
_**tatami**_. _Straw_  
_**'**__**tou-san**_. A contraction of _Otou-san_, a respectful address for one's own _father  
__**tsuki**_. _Moon_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**tsuzuku**_. _Continuation_, used as a name in this fic  
_**uke**_. The "dominated," more submissive male in a homosexual male relationship, typically but not necessarily always the "penetrated" sexual partner  
_**warui**_. Literally meaning _bad_; used in this fic to mean _My bad / Sorry _(said informally)  
_**yaoi**_. Actually an acronym for the phrase _yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi_ (translated as _no climax, no point, no meaning_); refers to a Japanese entertainment genre involving explicit sexual relations between two males, the plot of which may or may not include romance  
_**youkai**_. _Demon  
__**youki**_. _Demon(ic) power_, wielded by _youkai_ (as opposed to _reiki_)  
_**yuri**_. _Lily_ (the flower)  
_**Yusuke**_. _Ghost helper_, used as a name in this fic

For the nth time, if I missed anything that you need translating or explaining, just say so in the Reviews page. **Please REVIEW! Thank you so much! ^-^**


	16. The College Heartthrob

**A/N  
**Hello there! *waves* Ah, the joy of being alive! It feels good to be back! \^o^/ How have you been?

Thank you—thank you—thank you—I cannot thank all of you enough!—for your prayers (they worked! I'm alive! XD) and for most patiently waiting for this little fanfic of mine to be updated!

You know what? I was wheeled off to the operating room _right after posting Chapter 15_. (Yeah, I myself didn't know it was _that_ soon! Remember when I told you that I still had several hours left before my slaught—I mean surgery? I was wrong!)

Me: *signs out of FF dot Net* *breathes sigh of relief* There. Doc can knock me out cold now.

Nurse: *raps on my hospital room door repeatedly* *turns doorknob* Hi, ma'am! *swivels door fully open, revealing two muscular male nurses pushing operating room stretcher inside* It's time!

Me: *eyelids fly open* HUH—WHA—NOW?

I never even got to shut down my laptop. *sweatdrops*

By the way… The "foreign object" attached to my liver was diagnosed to be a hepatocellular, or hepatic, adenoma, a benign tumor 23 centimeters in diameter. So the surgical suture that now runs across my stomach is (a shockingly long) 24 centimeters in length. (If you can't imagine its sheer length yet, that's four-fifths a standard-sized school ruler. O.O) I _didn't_ have liver cancer or anything. But the adenoma _could_ have eventually become malignant (and led to liver cancer, all right) in several years' time. Or, had it not been detected and extracted at once, it could have just ruptured at any moment—while it was still inside me. And since it was a big, coagulated ball of _blood_, I could have lost my life to internal hemorrhage. (A death not out of character for Kurama, isn't it? XD)

But for the entire August and September 2010, I struggled to write again. In that surgery, I had lost _more_ than that pesky adenoma. I also lost my belief in myself.

I just didn't believe in myself anymore. I was incompetent, a wretch. Everything I did was shameful.

*scowls at own fingers for typing stuff that make me sound like some box office drama queen*

You see, never before had I been so high on morphine and other pain medications. Even three weeks after my operation, I still couldn't see straight. I couldn't type anything. Even when I finally could, I couldn't read what I was typing anyway. And even now, I still doubt that I'm back to my senses. Literally.

But then… If _I_ don't believe in myself, who else will?

It was _that_ thought which finally convinced me to type this fanfic again. It's taking long, but I'll get back on my feet again. This, too, shall pass.

I'm sorry. I've taken too much of your time with my stupid angst alone.

The following chapter was the best that I could come up with right now. And as my way of thanking you for still standing by me in sickness and in health, I leave you with the longest (but unfortunately, not the best) chapter I've ever written so far. (You may want to take breaks—maybe even long ones!—in between. I did. *sweatdrops*)

Oh, and another warning: OC overload alert. They're only minor characters, though. They won't last long.

Happy reading!

* * *

Chapter 16 is fondly dedicated to _you_:

**rain chant**-_san_: Yes, you were the first to review Chapter 15. ^-^ Thank you so, so much for your support! Your message touched me. I thought of you, too! *throws one big hug your way*

Though not at the rate Hiei runs-slash-teleports himself to places, my surgical scar is healing fast… In fact, my body is well on its way to full recovery. (Now I just wish I could say the same for my mind. XD)

**kingdomfantasyanime453**-_san_, to whom this chapter is dedicated _twice_: Oh, no—I hope I didn't _kill_ you-kill you! *kneels on the ground beside you* *screams out to high heavens* Live, my friend! LIVE~! XD

So you ship Kurama x Maya _and_ Kurama x OC. (Any pair, as long as Kurama's half of it? XD) Who between Maya and Setsu do you want to end up with Kurama, then? Feel free to share your thoughts with me! ^-^ And thank you for your prayers, too! I hope to hear from you again!

**PiNkBuN17**-_san_: Thank you for reading and reviewing both this little fanfic of mine _and_ my other one, _Stop Obsessing over Kurama!_ ^-^ Thank you, too, for your compliments! Actually, Kurama and Setsu are the ones who are "very smart." ^^ I find myself studying _a lot_ just to catch up with those two! XD I hope to hear from you again!

**DiesIrae773**-_san_: THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your well-wishing and prayers! You sounded like quite a caring "mother hen" to me! ^-^ I truly appreciate how you encourage me to update without applying pressure. *hugs you like Kurama hugs Shiori* (But no, I'm not Kurama. XD) Enjoy this new chapter~!

**loser94**-_san_: Your message gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling all over. I just _had_ to go awww. ^-^ *hugs you* Yes, my operation went well. And I missed you, too. ^^

Ooh. I love learning new things about my reader-reviewers. ^-^ Thank you for sharing! I'm Spanish-American by blood and descent, but not in nationality. And like you, I just _love_ languages, too! (But I epic fail at Spanish. T.T Yes, I fall short of the expectations of _that_ side of the family tree. XD)

Many people in my life speak French, so my ears often pick up sound bites… that my lips are too afraid to utter aloud in public for fear that my pronunciation is all wrong. ^^; I'm most comfortable with English and strangely, Japanese. (That's probably why this fanfic ended up this way. XD) Please, feel free to spread the language love in my Reviews page! I live to learn. ^_^

P.S. I was bedridden all throughout my birthday. But a brand new Kurama plushie delivered straight from Japan suddenly hopped into bed with me and… well, let's just say that my birthday was *really* happy. *wink* Thank you for greeting me in advance! ^-^

**krm3DeeDee**-_chan_: Hey, I just noticed something… Your last review resembled a letter, right from the "Dear" all the way to the "Love." ^-^ (And the P.S. XD) Thank you so much for that "letter." What a… personal… message you gave me. ^^

While I was typing Chapter 15, needles had been pricked, pierced, and virtually stabbed through my skin for more than ten times in just three days. From CBC tests, to injecting a contrast inside my body in preparation for my CT scan, to the skin test checking for any allergic reactions I may have to medications, to the IV drip needle paralyzing the back of my hand… If I didn't face every single one of those needles head-on, I swear I could have almost developed a phobia for them. XD

Typing Chapter 15 put me in a… calm… frame of mind for surgery. The fact alone that I still had a fanfic chapter to finish occupied my thoughts so much that I had forgotten to fear the scalpel altogether. _Why should I be afraid of a procedure that will cure me?_ I told myself as I typed. _I look forward to it. Bring it on!_ (My life attitude only changed for the worse _after_ my operation.)

Thank you for your prayers, and for encouraging me without pressuring me at all. You can uncross your fingers now. (Cross them for too long, and they might turn purplish from poor blood circulation. XD) But I guess you would know that much better than I ever would. I'm no doctor. (Journalist, public speaker, and philosopher by degree; teacher by profession here. ^^)

If I may refresh your memory, you typed this: "the younger Eternal (Setsu)." I have just one reaction to that: _Setsu is the younger Eternal?_ *whirls to face Setsu* Is that true, Setsu-_chan_? *is scolded to get back to typing* Sigh. That girl-boy—doesn't tell me anything! *mutters under her breath*

If you are still interested in rereading "their meeting at the castle," then let me remind you that it was in Chapter 3. And you're right about the Eternals having no form, shape, and appearance. The answers to your questions shall be answered… as always, when the time is right. ^^

"Kurama discovered that his memories will return to him if he…touches her. I am very interested to know what he'll do with this…piece of informationXD" Well, just read this chapter to find out! ^-^ (I just hope he doesn't come across as OOC… or a pervert! XD)

Your theories on Kurama's next steps—"staying 'oblivious,' or pressing Setsu into telling him the truth"—are very interesting. \^o^/ I don't want to spoil the entire fanfic for you now that we've gone this far, so I can assure you of only this: Kurama and Setsu's "romance"… won't be rushed. They have a truckload of plot to tow out of the road before they ever get together. _If_ they ever. ^^;

"The romantic soldier won't risk her life over some answers, right?" You know Kurama well, my friend. You really do. ^^

I'm sorry you felt that way about Setsu's reaction to Shiori's realizations. Now that I read that scene again, I realize I had exaggerated Setsu's worry for Kurama there. So I intend to rewrite that scene when I have the time. *hangs head in shame* But I hope I was somehow able to show the difference between how Setsu actually handled the situation and how Kurama would have done so—had he been in her shoes at the time, he would have just lied his way out. To me, Setsu is a more… honest… character than Kurama himself is—_something_ is just preventing her from giving her own secrets all away.

Kurama's confrontation of Koenma in Chapter 15 was based on that time he really _did_ confront Koenma—and in the _Reikai_ library, too!—in actual YYH canon, when he asked for the identity of the new enemy of the _Reikai Tantei_: Sensui. He didn't steal anything from Koenma's library back then, though. XD

Hiei's "frustrations"—his questions—are pointing towards the right direction. Once Kurama figures out the answers to _those_ questions, this case is closed!

As for Genkai seeing the younger Toguro… Here's something to help you figure it out (without giving you too much of a spoiler, I hope): Kuwabara saw a blonde, blue-eyed boy. Shizuru saw Sakyo. Hiei first saw a woman with black hair and violet eyes, then one with turquoise hair and red eyes immediately afterwards. Genkai saw the younger Toguro. Kurama saw no one, but sensed a powerful invisible presence looming close by him. When all of this happened, who do you suppose they _really_ saw? ^^

Yup, Setsu _is_ a _yaoi_ fangirl for the sake of fanservice… for now. But even her fondness for _yaoi_ will serve as explanation for _something_ in future chapters. (Ahem. She already drew Kaname x Kurama, in Chapter 13… wherein it was quite obvious just who between the two played the role of _seme_. *wink*)

The truck accident scene reminded me of a different vocaloid video: the ending of _World is Mine_, performed by Hatsune Miku. But in that video, Miku's guy saved her from a dirty old man on a bicycle. Kurama and Setsu were caught in a much more serious situation. (Heck, they always are. XD)

"I don't understand yet the full extent of her powers, but apparently she got the past, and her departed brother had the present, so she can't change the present. Just a guess." Good guess. If you have the time, rereading _Stop Obsessing over Kurama!_ will prove very helpful to your guessing. ^^ (That fanfic of mine is more… revealing… than readers assume it to be.)

You were right about my "sparing" Kurama in Chapter 15. I thought of including a scene of him lying to Shiori about the bloodied yellow cloth she had discovered in his cabinet, but I didn't have the time to type it down anymore… since I was to be wheeled off to the operating room. But I made up for it in this chapter. Please tell me what you think of it, then. ^-^

"I'd hit him with a pan on the head, if I were a character in your story." This was _hilarious_! I was reading this very line in my hospital sickbed when my anesthesiologist walked in on me laughing like a maniac. He almost detached the patient-controlled anesthesia line from me way ahead of schedule because he thought I'd gone loopy from all the morphine! XDD

Here you go, my friend~

"_Maa_, _maa_!" Multiple beads of sweat trickling down his brow, a nervous Kurama stepped back, holding up his hands before his chest in a desperate attempt to defend himself. "I understand that you don't approve of many of my actions, DeeDee-_san_, but there must be another way to settle thi—!"

A stainless steel skillet struck a redheaded skull.

As a woozy, knocked-out Kurama crumpled to the ground, DeeDee briskly rubbed her hands together and shook her head to herself.

"You're impossible, Kurama."

She turned her heels and walked away, never even once looking back.

P.S. To everyone else who had read this: _This scene never happened_ throughout the entirety of _Never Knew_, okay? XD

**Pewter Queen**-_san_: Thank you so much for leaving another review for my fanfic, then! ^-^ It's an honor to be the first web author you've reviewed more than once. I love hearing from my readers—again and again! ^^

I don't want to spoil this entire fic for you now that we've reached this far, but I _can_ safely tell you that Kaname and Setsu won't be together for much longer. But since both Kurama and Kaname are such competitive teenage boys, I don't think either of them would want to "share" Setsu with the other. And Setsu herself would not want to be a "prize" or "commodity" to be "shared" by two guys. So no, they will not form a threesome anytime soon. (If they will, we should include Maya in the equation—but then that would be a foursome. XD)

Yup, my surgery went well all right—I appreciate your concern! I hope you will review again! No pressure; just encouragement. ^-^

**Kaori Minamino**-_san_: Thank you so, so much for praying for me! Yes, Kurama _is_ a genius, isn't he? ^^ No need to apologize for the length of your review—I'm just happy to keep on hearing from you! ^^ I hope the hinge of your laptop is fixed by now… (P.S. Believe it or not, I'm eating cherry-flavored jell-o right now! XD)

**Milli (dot) Helen**-_san_: I'm so glad you see it, too—the "beginning of the end" of Kaname and Setsu's relationship, as you said. Your analysis of the backdoor plot of this fanfic is very interesting! I can't agree or disagree with you, though—I wouldn't want to spoil this fic for you now that we've gotten this far! ^-^ Oh, and typos are no problem to me. ^^ (Nowadays I lurk around FF dot Net using my mobile phone too, and I find that submitting reviews using it takes some getting used to. XD)

**S.T**-_san_: Thank you for your generous compliments! ^^ And for not pressuring me into immediately posting this next chapter. I truly appreciate that. And yes, my surgery was indeed successful—albeit my recovery is taking longer than I had hoped. But I'm trying my best to bounce back to normal. ^-^ I hope to hear from you again!

**LilyMoonstone**-_san_, to whom this chapter is dedicated _twice_: Thank you for checking out both this fanfic and my other one, _Stop Obsessing over Kurama!_ ^-^ (You know, you were absolutely right about Kiyoku's "true" feelings for Kurama there! *nods* She _does_ like him! XD) And I hope this isn't too much of a spoiler for you: This very fic and that one are somehow connected. Can't say any more than that. ^^;

No need to apologize for not reviewing my previous chapters—I'm just happy to hear from you. ^-^ As for your questions… In Chapter 8, Kurama had lost so much blood and yet awakened unscathed, safe and sound because… well, Setsu had something to do with it. XD That shall be explained when the time is right. ^^ And were you really asking about the _Elder_ Toguro, or the _Younger_ one? It was the Younger whom Genkai caught sight of in Chapter 15. As for the Elder… He's still spellbound to that cursed tree—the _Janen Ju_ or, as the FUNimation dub translated it, the _Sinning Tree_. Hope I answered your questions! ^^ I look forward to hearing from you again!

**Out-Of-Control-Authoress**-_san_: Thank you for your praise! I'm sorry this little fanfic of mine has "confused you to no end," but please be assured that you are not alone—many reader-reviewers of this fic have not figured out Setsu's true identity yet. ^^; And don't worry—you haven't missed an outright explanation anywhere, either. The clues lie between the lines. ^-^

Now that I reread my own writing, I must say that I entirely agree with you: it _is_ unusual. *sweatdrops* I probably should get back to reading novels to learn more styles and techniques. (Unfortunately, I haven't been reading much these days.) I hope to hear from you again!

**Unita**-_san_: Yes. I _was_ in a hospital, on my way to surgery, in pain… and still writing this fanfic. You were absolutely right. And your empathy of my situation touched me, too. ^^ You _are_ such a loyal, devoted reader-reviewer of this fanfic, and I insist on continuing this fic because of reader-reviewers like you. I must apologize, though—I _did_ stress over this next chapter. Even if I took so long to finally post it.

The characters you cosplay are very pretty. XD But I wouldn't want to spend ten full hours in a train just to cosplay, either. ^^; You're a gamer, too? A cousin of mine ten years younger than me (suddenly I feel so old XD) tried to get me hooked onto playing _Adventure Quest_, _Travian_, and _Flyff_ while a good friend practically brainwashed me into trying my hand at _Merentha_, but I haven't found the MMORPG for me yet. XD

You're right—_yaoi_ is so prevalent in fanfiction these days, you'd think fanfic authors are either allergic to or have a phobia of heterosexual couples! It's as if "gay" is the new straight these days! XD Sure, it's about time people in general open up their arms and embrace the growing reality of same-sex relationships, but fanfic authors are fast turning it into a genre—and abusing it! I may not be the biggest _yaoi_ fangirl in the world (and despite being a straight female, I have nothing against _yuri_, either), but I expect the characters being coupled together to be written _in character_. Even if fanfic authors use them for smutty slash fics, the characters at least deserve to be portrayed as their original creators characterized them. ^^

You think Setsu is Kurama's surrogate m…? O.O (Yes, I realize I didn't actually answer your question. XD Well, you _did_ say you don't want any spoilers… But I must admit, that's a very interesting guess you've got there. ^-^) And your theories on Hiei's _jagan_ amaze and amuse me at the same time. You're on the right track, my friend! ^^

As for your question, "why didn't she use her powers to change reality now and stop Shiori from finding the cloth piece?" all I'll answer is: She would have… if she _could_ have.

The Kurama-Koenma confrontation in Chapter 15 is my new favorite scene throughout this entire fanfic. You'll get to read Koenma's reaction to the revelation of the stolen scroll in this chapter. ^^

You could say that Shiori confided to Setsu just because she needed to get her worries off her chest right away. You could also say that she and Setsu had gotten closer over the two weeks Setsu stayed over at the Minamino home. But actually, there's something about—between? XD—those two women that Kurama hasn't quite figured out yet.

For the life of me, I don't know why other fic authors claim that Kurama got his red hair and green eyes from his human father, a.k.a. Shiori's first husband. That guy was actually shown in YYH—and in several flashbacks, too!—and he didn't look like Kurama at all! He had curly brown hair and was wearing glasses. And his eye color shall forever remain unknown because behind those eyeglasses of his, his eyes were always closed—he just smiled at his newborn baby Shuuichi so much. Well, all I'm really saying here is that if we go by actual YYH canon, human Kurama does _not_ physically resemble his human father.

"Setsu/Eternal/whatever." By that, did you mean to tell me that Setsu is an Eternal? You're not the only one who has considered that a possibility. (Another reader-reviewer who shares your sentiments is **krm3DeeDee**-_chan_. In fact, among everyone who have reviewed this so far, it's the two of you who have come the closest to figuring this entire mystery out! ^-^) I won't tell you if you're right or wrong, though. I'm sure you'll get it on your own. ^^

Remember when I mentioned to you in a response to one of your previous reviews that Genkai is still alive in this fic for a reason? Well, I kept her alive so that she could essay a major role in Chapter 15. Since she's the closest to Kurama's real age among the YYH gang, I thought she could offer him even just a few "words of wisdom." (She reminded him of stuff that Yusuke never would, such as the pain of tragic love and the fact that Setsu was "a woman" no matter what else she was.) And I totally agree with you—Kurama does _not_ deal with romance like some innocent virgin teenager who doesn't know what to do when confronted with the opposite sex. He's far too old—and mature—for that kind of naïveté. XD

"Setsu is the Eternal's living prison, which at the same time is and is not her." Another interesting guess, Unita-_san_! But I'm not saying you're right—yet I'm not saying you're wrong, either. XD For this to be true, she must be capable of being in two places at the same time, or of "splitting" herself into two different entities existing at once. Well, we'll just have to see what happens next. ^^

Yeah, I don't know why neither YYH canon nor fanfiction have dared to depict Kurama as the code-breaker Togashi claims him to be. Maybe no one really had any code for him to crack. *shrugs* As for me, I'm trying my best to put all his abilities to good use. I would like my readers to appreciate the full power of his mind. ^^

There is something to be said about a reader-reviewer whose review is so long that it is cut short even before its actual end. Wow. I feel so honored to receive a review of this length, detail, and depth of self-disclosure. You share so much of yourself with me that I can't help but reveal myself to you, too. ^-^ I hope we continue to communicate like this—even if we're halfway around the world. XD

And **unknown player**-_san_, to whom this is dedicated _twice_: I'm glad to know you liked Chapter 13 in spite of it being an _omake_. (It's an honor to be an "exception" to anything. ^^) And thank you for asking how I'm doing. ^-^ My surgical scar is healing fast. What pains me more is my inability to write as well as I would like. ^^;

Actually, this is more of a love _square_: between Kaname, Setsu, Kurama, and Maya. Although it was not of my intention to make this a "Sniper fic," I guess it could qualify as one as well. Are you fond of the Sniper? Just curious. I hope to hear from you again!

Special thanks to **AkiiRyuuha**, who added this little fanfic of mine to the **Golden Story Bookcase** community just one day after my birthday. I truly appreciate it. Heck, I didn't even know you were reading this. XD I hope to hear from you soon!

And as usual, here's a shout-out to the new readers of this fic who just joined us in Chapter 15, but haven't reviewed yet: **angelsanddemons01**, **Blueyedragoneko**, **animelover56348**, **secretlovers**, **bakuraXryou4everluv**, **alphaprincess0803**, and **kitsune light**! (Anyone else I forgot to mention? ^^;) I hope to read your reviews soon!

One last dedication for the road to **saltedrootbeer**! We both know I'm already too (ridiculously) old to get a Kurama plushie for my birthday, but you gave me one anyway. I love you for that. ^-^ (Setsu's not the only one with a plushie now! XD)

* * *

"Have you no desire to speak to him one last time?"

Thick-rimmed glasses glinted against the classroom ceiling light.

"Have you lost the desire to see the hue of my soul?"

Thin lips twisted into a cocksure smile, a naughty dimple surfacing at its corner.

"Hmph," snorted the psychic, pushing his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. "You _do_ realize that if you lose, I will not give you back your soul—"

"I know. You don't know how," scoffed the impatient participant. _Never have you practiced restoring souls—before you could even return the only three souls you had ever taken, you had already lost your own._

"Very well. I'll take that as an agreement." The word wizard was pleased with his new opponent. The more arrogant they were, all the more thrilling it was to crush them. "Any last words?"

Icy blue eyes spoke for themselves. _Get on with the show._

"If you insist. Let the game begin!"

His bespectacled eyes boring into the blank sheet of paper before them, the spellbinder summoned his spiritual powers. Suddenly, one by one, every word that rolled off his lips magically appeared on the page:

"Hear thy name, mighty Taboo!  
Cast thy curse upon us two!  
Every tongue and every verse  
known to thy own universe—  
all words from our lips—forbid!  
He who utters sense be rid!  
Strike the mouth that murmurs clear  
into all life able to hear!  
Steal the soul that speaks a name  
throughout our now eternal game!"

And right then and there was the contract forged, the curse unleashed, their fate sealed, his promise to Genkai-_shihan_ broken forever.

**16: The College Heartthrob  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **Classroom Crossfire**

"HEY!" roared a three-horned, gray-skinned ogre carrying a tall stack of papers tipping dangerously to one side, threatening to collapse at any moment.

A reddish-purple ogre with two bony outgrowths poking out of its hairless head quickly stepped aside to avoid the incoming flier, shaking a menacingly clenched fist at the figure that suddenly, smoothly whooshed by. "Watch where you're going!"

Rushing against the hands of time, the rowboat paddle-rider glided past the goliaths bustling along the _Reikai_ palace hall. Her ponytailed light blue hair rippled behind her as she flew, leaving a dreamy illusion of a gentle ocean wave in her wake.

"Sooorryyy!" Botan called out to the monster forms she had passed by too recklessly, one hand cupped beside her mouth to amplify her voice, the other steering the front end of her oar. The faster she flew, the more her long wooden paddle tilted from side to side. From years of experience, the ferry-girl shifted her weight to find her center of balance in the course of her rickety ride.

The doors of the palace library thundered wide open. The magical oar floated to a stop.

"Koooeeenma-_samaaa_!" The reaper called out into the dark, vast annals of the royal reading room.

"Botan! Over here!"

"Oh!" Botan hopped off her paddle and landed on her feet lightly, wide lilac eyes widening even more to the sight of the pint-sized prince merely several meters away from her on the polished palace ground. "There you are, Koenma-_sama_!" She shuffled across the floor in her traditional Japanese slippers of twine, holding up one long, oversized pink kimono sleeve to hide her mouth. "I just met the strangest girl—"

The royal infant looked up to meet eyes with his servant. "Never mind that!" A grubby baby hand waved dismissively. "More importantly, did you tell Yusuke and the rest…?"

"Yusuke and Keiko-_chan_ were together when I saw them, so I invited them both, and Kuwa-_chan_ promised he'd tell the others." An unusual distress was written all over Botan's face. "But Kurama—"

"Kurama?" Koenma pointed right out the door. "You just missed him! He was here a while ago!"

"_Ehhhhh_?" Botan blinked. "So _that_'s why he wasn't home! I dropped by his room and met this really strange girl who could see me and talk to me! She told me to leave a message for him, but I couldn't!"

"A girl who could see you and talk to you?" Koenma repeated, cocking an eyebrow in disbelief. Botan must have carelessly flown to Kurama's house without first ensuring that she was invisible to everyone else but him. It must have been his human mother—her spiritual awareness must have awakened and intensified from all her years of sharing the same roof with the powerful _youkai_ that was her son. "Did you tell _her_ to tell Kurama about the get-together?"

"N-No," stammered the suddenly shameful reaper, nervously pressing her pointer fingertips together. "I just _couldn't_, Koenma-_sama_! She was creepy! She even called me Botan—"

"Koenma-_sama_," softly began a Saotome Jorge right in between them.

The royal right-hand ogre's gravelly voice fell on deaf ears. "If she even knew you by name, you _could have_ told her to tell Kurama! You were already there!" The spoiled prince harrumphed, crossing pudgy baby arms across his chest. "Sometimes I can't trust you to do the simplest things—if I want something done, I gotta do it myself!"

"Koenma-_sama_!" Jorge tried again, this time more urgently, even raising a muscled monster finger up to call for attention.

"That's not fair, Koenma-_sama_!" protested a Botan who felt the need to explain herself further. "Wait a second…" She suddenly digressed, digging a delicate finger into her chin in thought. "If Kurama wasn't in _Ningenkai_ because he was _here_…" A hand thrust out of a long, oversized kimono sleeve and pointed an accusatory finger at the impudent infant. "Then _you_ could have told him!"

"KOENMA-_SAMA_!"

"_NANDA YO_?" Koenma finally turned to his bungling sidekick, fighting holler with whiny holler.

The one-horned assistant motioned to a gap in between five volumes of a hardbound encyclopedia all lined in a row on the bookshelf next to him. "Wasn't there something occupying this space before?"

Beady baby eyes grew round as saucers. A princely throat choked back a gasp.

"The scroll—!"

The blue-haired and the blue-skinned imperial aides exchanged curious blinks. "Scroll? What scroll?"

Suddenly, the ogres filing official records in their Mortality Department cubicles felt the royal castle walls and floor shaking violently. An earthquake of royal proportions devastated their office, two-ton file cabinets toppling down, and countless documents flying in all directions.

"_KUUURAAAMAAAAA_!"

* * *

Did the earth just move under his feet?

His left hand on the cold edge of the ceramic washbasin in the second floor bathroom, with his right Kurama raised a cup to his lips and gargled. Green orbs absently eyed the porcelain sink, distant and lost in thought.

"_We're alone now,_ 'Kaa-san_." Kurama guided his mother to the sofa and motioned for her to sit. "What is it?"_

"_This…" The mother suddenly struggled to speak. "This isn't going to be easy, Shuuichi…"_

_The son fell silent._

"_I don't want to sound like I don't trust you, Shuuichi. I trust you. I really do." Shiori nodded for emphasis, trying to convince her son and (especially) herself. "But I can't help feeling you've been…"_

_Kurama slowly withdrew his hand from her shoulder. He could already tell where this was going._

"… _hiding something from me."_

_The son in question remained still, his face shadowed… unreadable._

"_Something very important…" Both her hands settled on her lap, slowly but surely gripping her lace handkerchief. "… that I should know about…"_

_She paused on a high note. Her last statement seemed less an accusation and much, much more a question. A plea._

"_Shuuichi…?"_

_Green eyes fondly gazed into old blue. Warmth poured from his voice._ "Hai_?"_

_Shiori caught herself in a trance of confusion. How in the world did she bring herself to doubt this sweet, innocent boy—the very child she herself raised all on her own for most of his life? Shuuichi was the kindest, most affectionate son any mother could ever ask for. Every day without fail, he told her he loved her. Just what was it about this angel that troubled her so much…?_

"_Have…" The longer she stared into his eyes, the more she lost herself—she was drawn to him, inclined to trust in him. Shuuichi was a most beguiling young man. The way he spoke volumes of devotion without moving his lips at all was… swaying. In the eyes of any other woman, he could even be seductive._

"_Have you been…" With all her willpower, Shiori refused to let him get away with keeping secrets from her. "… getting into any fights?"_

_His lips almost curled into a smile. Kurama all too well knew the enchanting spell-like effect of the_ kitsune _on their prey._ You're starting to know better now, _'Kaa-san_. I can't deceive you for much longer, can I? _His gaze wandered to her lap, where her hands were now twisting her handkerchief into a tight knot._ What ideas did Mayonaka-_san_ manage to feed to you? _Green eyes blinked innocently. "What made you think that,_ 'Kaa-san_?"_

"_I'm sorry to look through your things without asking you first," began Shiori. "But I found a piece of fabric among your clothes, and it was soaked with blood!"_

_A gasp caught in his throat._ My reminder of defeating Karasu—she saw it…! _He quietly clenched his fist inside his pocket. "Where is it? Is it still with you?"_

_Shiori stopped and thought awhile. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen it since Setsuki_-chan _left."_

_His eyes narrowed._ She saw it as well.

"_Was that really your blood on it, Shuuichi?"_

_Without hesitation, Kurama chuckled as convincingly as he could. "You need not worry,_ 'Kaa-san—_that was part of a litmus test I conducted in my high school science class." Complete with hand gestures, he resorted to the very escape route he had used to evade his mother's suspicions time and time again. "I dipped that cloth into an acidic solution, so it turned red as a chemical reaction. It's been so long since then; it must have faded by now. But I assure you,_ 'Kaa-san_, it isn't what you thought at all."_

_Shiori finally stopped wringing her handkerchief._

"_But if it has already been some time since that project…" A slight frown crossed her face. She still had her reservations. "Why did you keep it with you?"_

"_As a reminder of my success." Kurama responded quickly, readily. A genuine smile graced his lips._ It's true, _'Kaa-san_. He may have been declared the winner, but victory smiled brighter upon me.

_She finally let go of her handkerchief altogether. At that moment, Kurama found himself clasped in an embrace._

"_Oh, thank heavens!" cried Shiori, holding her son to her heart. "I'm so glad we were wrong! Setsuki_-chan _and I thought you had gotten into a very dangerous fight!"_

_A green gaze fell._ Perhaps Mayonaka-_san_ was more honest to you than I am. _His arms folded around her shoulders with reluctance… a shred of remorse._ How did she handle this?

"_I was really scared for you, Shuuichi!" Shiori sobbed into Kurama's shoulder. "I feared for your life!"_

_Kurama tightened his hold of his human mother._

"_I apologize,_ 'Kaa-san_." Crimson hair fell across emerald eyes. "For everything."_

Kurama threw his head back and spat his mouthwash down the basin drain, long crimson locks also spilling onto the ceramic rim of the sink in the process.

Another memory plagued his mind.

_He felt his hair being tugged behind him. He turned to his side and found Setsu holding his hair up._

_She grinned impishly. "Wouldn't want your hair smelling of gargle spit,_ ne_?"_

Kurama set his cup down and closed his eyes.

_It isn't the same._

* * *

Dirty brown forelocks scattered before her eyes, Setsu rolled her empty tube of toothpaste from end to end, attempting to force out the very last of its contents onto her toothbrush but failing miserably. "_Hn_," she grumbled to herself. _How did I do this while I was in Kazuyu_-'ji-san_'s house?_

Suddenly, staring at her toothpaste tube stirred a forgettable but unforgotten memory.

"Itoko_, no one nags like that in this house! Not even_ 'Kaa-san_!"_

"_That's exactly why_ I'm _doing it."_

_As she scolded away, still wagging her toothbrush in mid-air, Kurama gently took the twisted, misshapen tube from her hand and squeezed it even emptier than it already was. "Hold still, Mayonaka_-san_."_

"_So now would be the perfect time for you to prove me wrong—" She scraped off a drop of sparkling minty gel oozing out of her toothpaste tube. "—Oh._ Arigatou, sempai._"_

Setsu eyed the white-furred stuffed toy fox perched atop the medicine cabinet of her bathroom. She still had not washed the bloodstain off that yellow cloth wrapped around its neck.

"Fine. I get it," she muttered to the plushie under her breath grudgingly, almost angrily. "Apparently, my life isn't the same without you, too."

* * *

The low, rhythmic whirr of their washing machine grew louder and louder the closer Kurama approached the Minamino-Hatanaka laundry room.

"'_Kaa-san_," he called out through the open doorway as he stepped inside.

Loose brown locks defied Shiori's tight ponytail and tumbled from behind her ears across her cheeks. The exhausted housewife propped her flat iron upon the metal stand of her ironing board and looked up to face her son. "Are you leaving now, Shuuichi?"

"_Aa_." Kurama found stack upon stack of recently pressed and folded clothes next to his already thin-faced but still warmly smiling mother. "You've accomplished so much this morning alone, _'Kaa-san_. Please rest while we are away."

"I'll be all right." Shiori reinforced her words with an even warmer smile, one of gratitude. She scooped up a plastic bag containing what appeared to be a newly ironed set of clothing.

Green orbs eyed the carnation pink collars visible from outside the bag. _My uniform._ They drifted towards the office briefcase in his hand. _But I already brought my own…_

Tired, frail fingers handed the packaged school uniform to a silent Kurama. "Have fun on your first day of school, Shuuichi."

Knowing, reluctant fingers first hesitated to take the bag, but eventually took it anyway.

"_Arigatou_."

"I love you, Shuuichi."

Still eyeing the extra set of uniform now in his hands, the returning Meiou student leaned towards his favorite parent and planted a soft kiss on her cheek, his lips brushing against the strands of hair wilting before her ear.

"I love you too, _'Kaa-san_."

The low, rhythmic whirr of their washing machine quieted more and more the farther Kurama walked away from the Minamino-Hatanaka laundry room.

* * *

Facing a full-length mirror, Mayonaka Tsuzuku was flinging his favorite tie behind his neck when he caught sight of a carnation pink skirt in the glass. He whirled to face his daughter behind him, a curious eyebrow cocking up. "Kisetsu, what's with _that_ under there?"

Setsu slung one purple backpack strap over her carrying shoulder. "What?" She blinked and peered down at her brand new college uniform—carnation pink blazer over golden blouse, matching pleated carnation pink skirt with gold linings, matching carnation pink sweatpants, and black leather school shoes. "Something wrong?"

Tsuzuku turned back to the mirror, tying his necktie halfway through his chest and then sliding the triangular knot all the way up to his polo shirt collar. "Does Meiou require a skirt _and sweatpants_ at the college level?"

Setsu took long to respond. "_Iie_," she began uncomfortably, tugging downward at the hem of her school skirt. "This just seemed a lot longer when that tailor measured me for it. Could this not be the size that I ordered after all?"

"If you find it too short, you could give it to Minaku."

_There's something to be said about a parent who could think of children other than his own,_ Setsu noted to herself. "This _could_ fit her better, _ne_?" The college freshman sighed in resignation. "But I'm sticking with this. There's no point in wasting money on resized skirts."

"But you seem to think there _is_ a point in wasting money on more laundry to wash at the end of the day."

A brutish grumble boiled in Setsu's throat. _Some parent,_ she rolled her eyes to herself, mentally taking back her earlier epiphany of admiration. _Nicer to other children than to his own._

"Go." The mischievously mocking father pointed to their front door by jerking his head towards it. "You've kept _that boy_ waiting for too long."

"He has a name, you know."

Setsu stood before her human father and bowed her head before him, disheveled brown forelocks falling across her face.

Tsuzuku could not help himself—his lips jerked once, twice, refusing to give in to a smile. He must have the most unaffectionate, undemonstrative daughter on the face of the planet. She conducted herself before him as impersonally and distantly as a common man would towards a royal—bowing to him instead of giving him a hug or kiss goodbye.

A rough male hand reached out and clapped atop a stooped scalp, patting the tangled, towel-dried maze of hair just once—lightly, almost tenderly. He would miss this snarly head—and this snarky mind—once that boyfriend of hers whisks her away and out of his life for good. He had to learn to let her go.

"_Go_," barked the elderly bass voice again, this time with more command.

"Sheesh," grumbled Setsu, frowning as she straightened her back and headed for the front door. "All right already."

With all the mental strength he could muster, the stoic father resisted that same stupid small smile still dangerously threatening to break out of his lips until the very moment his daughter shut the door behind her. But when he finally allowed it to show, it was even smaller than he thought it would be.

And sadder.

He missed her already.

* * *

From inside her condominium building, she could make out his sleek cobalt Yamaha at the entrance gates of the residential compound. Her eyes even squinted from the blinding glint of its metal chassis against the rays of the morning sun. _He_ _must have spent the entire weekend polishing it,_ Setsu mused to herself.

Long, lean legs straddled the two-stroke motorcycle, sinfully tight jeans hugging hips slender and strong. Gloved hands gripped the handlebar of the Yamaha. Hagiri Kaname shifted his entire body forward, making room for his passenger to sit behind him as she always did.

Silently eyeing the helmeted motorbike rider parked behind the entrance gates, Setsu tightened her grip on the backpack handles slung before her shoulders. _Expect the worst, Mayonaka Setsuki. He won't jump for joy when he sees you in uniform._

True enough, those smoldering flames in his lavender eyes confirmed her instincts.

"So _that_'s your answer to me. Let me get out of your way," harrumphed the rejected lover. "I know when I'm not wanted."

Kaname shot one last glare at that brown-haired, blue-eyed body of betrayal approaching him, kick-started his bike, and revved away.

_So do I._

Even with sandy brown locks veiling her eyes, Setsu was certain that he never once looked back.

* * *

"_Day One_." He wrote in his mental notes. "_1100 hours._"

His nose behind a pocketbook he had already read over and over again, Kaitou Yuu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

From behind thick-rimmed spectacles, charcoal eyes darted across the private campus road leading to the main building of Meiou _Daigaku_, scanning the crowds for any suspiciously scholarly-looking students. Two academic years without that frustratingly unbeatable Minamino in his sights still did not incline Kaitou to trust in anyone else. Any one of these common mortals sharing his exclusively elite academy could pose a threat to his richly deserved rank as number one.

"Hmph," he grumbled without moving his lips at all. _"There seems to be a considerable rise in the number of freshmen this year,_" he observed to himself, eyeing the countless fresh campus faces surrounding him left and right. _"But no matter. I am taking advanced senior subjects this semester. None of them could pursue my classes even if they tried."_

As he absent-mindedly assured himself of his third consecutive year at the very top of his batch, he failed to see the just as absent-minded freshman heading straight for him. The two Meiou undergrads collided right into each other and collapsed to the ground—a pair of prescription eyewear, a paperback book, and a battery-powered music player flying out of their owners' clutches.

"_Eeh_—I—I'm so sorry!" stammered the fallen female first-year, quickly rising to her knees and repeatedly bobbing her head in apology.

The near-sightless Kaitou was lost in an inconveniently hazy world. "_If you're half as sorry as you say you are, help me find my glasses!_" He snorted to himself as he blindly fumbled around him. When he finally felt the squarish frame of his specs within his reach, soft fingertips brushed against his own.

For a short, holy moment, he froze.

"_Eeto_," continued the nervous-sounding soprano whose face he had yet to behold, carefully pulling her hand away from his. "It got dirty. Let _me_ handle it!"

The remorseful underclassman inhaled deeply and blew onto Kaitou's glasses, fogging up their lenses. Her breath tickled his nose, and his face flushed uncontrollably. For another short, holy moment, a chilly tingle—what _was_ that strange sensation? Some degree of excitement? A delighted thrill?—ran down his spine. The blur of a girl that was all he could see wiped her own breath-mist off his glasses with the hem of her blouse, leveled them to her own eyes to check if they were clean enough to wear, and finally slid them back atop the bridge of his nose.

Kaitou did not regain his eyesight. He discovered heaven on earth.

He blinked once, twice, not believing his eyes. When did all these elegant flower petals start floating freely in the breeze? Suddenly, Meiou _Daigaku_ now seemed more beautiful than it was the previous year. "_And they call Matsudaira Akiho an alluring creature._" For yet another short, holy moment, he closed his eyes. "_Just wait 'til they prey upon_ this _one._"

"This must be yours, too!"

The mesmerizing maiden bent down, a fountain of ebony spilling before her shoulders, quietly flowing to her waist and framing her fair, chaste face. She took a peek at the front cover of his pocket novel before handing it back to him.

"'Kaitou Yuu'," she read the name of its author aloud. "Hey, I've heard that name before!"

"_I'm sure you have._" A secret smirk got the better of the smug, seasoned author's facial muscles. "_I've published four bestsellers to date!_"

"Did you know that that guy's still a college student like us?" The oblivious freshman pointed out matter-of-factly. "Setsu-_chan_ said he wrote his first novel when he was just in high school!"

At that short but unholy moment, an invisible punch landed right on Kaitou's gut, bruising more than just his ego. As familiar as she was with his name and reputation, the girl didn't recognize him at all! There he was, standing before her—in the flesh!—and yet…!

Just as Kaitou's shoulders sank, another realization hit him in the face: The lovely lady had a boyfriend. And how emotionally attached she was to him, too—most affectionately addressing him as "_chan_" even when he was nowhere near her!

"I should have known," the senior muttered under his breath, denying himself of his right to disappointment. What was the matter with him? Rollercoaster romances were beneath him! Especially those exciting, loopy rides that ended too soon!

To his surprise, the beautiful heartbreaker clapped a reassuring hand upon his shoulder.

"You shouldn't feel sorry for yourself, stranger-_san_! Being jealous of him will get you nowhere! If you want to be an author like him someday, just work hard and your dream will come true!" She pumped her fists into the air, the most adorable look of determination on her face.

"_Watch your words,_" Kaitou reminded himself inwardly. "_Right her wrong without offending her._" Resisting his usual urge to resort to cold intimidation, Kaitou got a hold of himself by adjusting his glasses and clearing his throat. "Point taken. However, if you must know, I—"

"THERE YOU ARE, SETSU-_CHAN_!"

A split second later, Kaitou Yuu found himself alone in his thoughts, following the object of his raging pubescent hormones with his eyes as she raced towards a uniformed undergraduate in the distance. The black-haired beauty stopped amidst a sea of freshmen flooding the entrance of the main building and threw her arms around a brunette taller than her by roughly two inches. The crowds blocking his view, Kaitou could see no more of that lucky bastard aside from the left side of his face.

"_Wild hair. Bright eyes._" The guy's profile alone sickening him to his stomach, Kaitou's lips snaked into a scowl. "_A pretty boy, just like Minamino. Why doesn't that surprise me?_"

As the yet nameless girl and her blue-eyed beau walked into the main hall, she glanced over her shoulder and winked at the senior she had left behind.

Kaitou's glasses glinted and veiled his eyes as he watched her walk away with someone else. He sighed to himself. "_I myself should be on my way._"

Just as he turned his heels to leave, a rectangular white mechanical device lying on the ground caught his eye. He picked up the compact music player and read the name spelled out on its back casing by small, sparkling jewel-shaped beads.

"Nami…"

* * *

"_KYAAAAAAAAAAA_~!"

"Hot _damn_!" exclaimed the technicians, all male, at once.

Throbbing red hearts replacing all their eyes, the young redhead's co-workers swarmed around him like mindless moths to a brightly burning flame. Both male and female bodies clung onto him, chests grinding onto each other, skin sliding on skin.

And in the very heart of the mad mob was a Kurama who had just changed into the boys' uniform of Meiou _Daigaku_.

"Minamino-_samaaaaa_!" screamed female employees from all departments in that floor.

"MARRY ME!" cried six happily married women and one engaged to be wed in a week, fiancé forgotten forever.

"I can't believe how _smokin' hot_ you look in that, Minamino!" cried a shameless fanboy in his mid-thirties.

"_KAWAII~_!" squealed the accountants.

"Take me, Minamino-_kun_!" A secretary pushed everything off her worktable. "Take me _now_!"

"I'd love to give _this_ student a 'private lesson'!"

"Need a 'special tutor,' Shuuichi-_kun_?"

"_I_ could 'teach' ya some _good lovin'_, baby!"

Meaningful winks thrown his way from all directions, a most exasperated Kurama sighed to himself.

_And I'm not even in Meiou yet._

* * *

"_Day One_," Kaitou reminded himself as he crossed the hallway on his way to advanced English class. "_1300 hours._"

He stepped into his next classroom without even shooting a glance at the room number atop the door. He felt no need to. After all, years upon years of thorough mastery of the Meiou floor plan and site maps had already familiarized him with every square inch of the school. Even without exploring the campus grounds by foot, he very well knew his way around.

But when he found the only student who had made it to his next classroom before he did, suddenly he wasn't so sure.

"_It's him…!_" His fist clenching his pocketbook tightly, Kaitou's teeth gritted on their own from the mere memory of the wicked incubus who had stolen the goddess of beauty away earlier this morning.

"_But a freshman? In_ advanced _English? It can't be! This subject has a prerequisite introductory course! This beginner shouldn't have been able to sign up for this class!"_

A frown crumpling his face, Kaitou cleared his throat. "You must be in the wrong room."

Absently nibbling on the tip of a pencil, his inattentive classmate continued staring at the sketchbook page sprawled on the desk, not even bothering to establish eye contact with him.

"_Iie_." The illustrator stopped chewing on the pencil, several bite marks deforming its eraser. "I believe that I'm right where I'm supposed to be."

"_Keep yourself together! Be professional!_" Kaitou warned himself. "_The matter at hand here is his right to pursue a senior course and_ not _his relationship with…!_" His brows furrowed even more. "Aren't you a little too young to be in this class?"

Light blue eyes finally looked up from the sketchpad.

"Aren't _you_ a little too young to have published that book?"

The short-haired brunette pointed at Kaitou Yuu's copy of his own book, entitled _Taboo_.

Thick-rimmed spectacles glinted, hiding eyes glittering with self-satisfaction. The college student by day, published author by night snorted with pride. "I see my reputation precedes me."

"_Iie_." The student sitting on a nearby classroom desk smirked just as arrogantly. "That picture of you at its back cover is just so big, I couldn't miss it."

"Hmph." A suddenly shameful Kaitou grunted, clutching his book closer to him. "_Sharp eyes, this punk._"

A head of cropped caramel hair jerked to the side, pointing at the vacant desks in the room. "You should take a seat before the rest of our class occupies this room, _ne_?"

A chuckle of conceit burst out of Kaitou's lips. "_Our_ class?" he repeated mockingly. "I don't think so. I've never seen you around the university grounds before, which leads me to conclude that you're either a transfer student or a freshman, neither of whom are qualified to take an advanced English class!"

"You're right—I _am_ a freshman," said the low, mellow voice quietly.

"_Lost your thunder now, haven't you?_" Kaitou thought to himself with a sly, victorious half-smile.

"And that is why I look forward to attending this class all the more," continued the low, mellow voice. "To see the difference between a freshman and a senior class. My credentials are really none of your business, but since you insist…" Calloused fingers handed Kaitou a slip of paper. "Here you go."

Kaitou scanned the official letter in his hands:

"Based on the overall academic performance of this student in the high school core curriculum, the Faculty of the Department of English of Meiou Private High School hereby grants permission to Mayonaka S"

His thumb covered the rest of his classmate's name, but he decided he had read enough. He still remembered the guy's first name from this morning—it had been ringing in his ears ever since. Apparently this Mayonaka Setsu fellow had indeed been authorized to pursue higher English courses. "_Now the question is why_." Kaitou wanted to put the freshman to the test himself.

"If you are indeed as good in English as your little high school teachers think you are, Mayonaka-_kun_," Kaitou's lips rolled with contempt. The sheer thought of that very surname possibly becoming the divine Nami's own one day simply disgusted him. "Then you should be able to prove yourself quite easily. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to…" He paused for dramatic emphasis. "…'evaluate' you as well."

"You graduated from Meiou High too, _ne_?" Without waiting for his answer, the freshman remarked, "So we both had more or less the same professors. Some nerve you've got, belittling your own high school English teachers like that."

"You seem provoked. On the defensive? Could you be nervous?" Kaitou opened his novel and flipped to the page containing the English puzzle. "Like a cat on a hot tin roof? Or are you more of a dog—your bark is really worse than your bite?"

The blue-eyed brunette cocked an eyebrow. "I don't appreciate being called an animal. Of any kind. But _I'm_ not the one in a bad light here. If anything, you have just shown me that you are not above immature insults."

"_How dare this brat accuse me of immaturity!_ Me, _of all people!"_ Kaitou's eyes narrowed. "I see I have slighted you. Very well. I'll take my words back on one condition." He handed his underclassman his book. "Solve this."

"Why should I?" snapped the younger collegian. "I believe that I have no need to prove myself—to you, or to anyone else."

"But he who turns his back on the battle is always the first to get shot."

* * *

_Hn_, Setsu frowned to herself. _I know when I've just been called a coward._

With no further protest, the younger student took the book from Kaitou and read the problem puzzler written in English aloud:

"Study this paragraph and all things in it. What is vitally wrong with it? Actually, nothing in it is wrong, but you must admit that it is most unusual. Don't just zip through it quickly, but study it scrupulously. With luck, you should spot what is so particular about it and all words found in it. Can you say what it is? Tax your brain and try again. Don't miss a word or a symbol. It isn't all that difficult…"

"English gentles your voice, Mayonaka-_kun_," commented Kaitou with a callous chuckle. "You almost sound like a woman."

Setsu shot a look below her classroom desk, where she caught sight of her own knees in long sweatpants of the same color as the school pants of Meiou _Daigaku_. Her school skirt was so short that it did not even reach her knees, so it remained hidden under the table, invisible to both of them. _Gee, I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted._

"I've received many a fan letter asking—no, _begging_—me for the answer to that puzzle." Setsu's classmate-slash-tormentor adjusted his glasses, their lenses glinting ominously. "All I tell them is that when they think hard about it, there is really nothing to it!"

"_Nothing to it"…_ Setsu repeated in her mind.

"It won't be long before class begins," Kaitou pushed his sleeve up and checked the time on his wristwatch. "I must have your answer before another one of our classmates arrives. Tick tock!" He strode to the teacher's desk, pulled up the chair behind it, and sat down. "Or are you not up to the challenge after all?"

_Ne, Megane-kun._ She followed him with her eyes. _You_ should _be able to see my skirt from there._

He leaned back on the teacher's seat slowly, regally, picturing himself in a royal throne in his very own kingdom. Propping his elbows up on the table, he pressed his fingers together to form a steeple, a shadow of pure evil eclipsing his face.

At that moment, Setsu shut the book.

"What's this?" Kaitou's lips twisted even more evilly. "Giving up so soon, Mayonaka-_kun_?"

"E."

* * *

Autumn laced the air, her smoky, heady perfume light but lingering. This year, the season was still the pyromaniac she had always been, burning each and every tree she fancied into cinders. Even the strongest brushwood had never been able to resist her brushfire—the trees themselves had renamed her Fall, for that was the very fate all their leaves befell when they burst into flames. Their roots were their thirsty throats, begging for water and just a little mercy. Their crowns of leaves burned the brightest—Autumn razed them until they were red, then orange, then brown, then gone.

Crisp, brittle leaves that refused to turn to dust blanketed the ground and crumbled beneath his feet. _The cruelest of the seasons_, mused Kurama as he gazed upon the bare, leafless branches before him. _She strips her victims and burns them alive. Yet without her fury, Spring could never bloom._

Only in autumn could he walk amidst the trees and vanish—the red of his hair and the fiery hues of the trees together, blending, burning. Youko Kurama the _kitsune_ was born to camouflage in snow, but only snow. Minamino Shuuichi was different. Warmer seasons suited him better. And autumn most reminded him of home.

The autumn of _Makai_ was drier, more desolate than that of _Ningenkai_. Many an autumn night did he plan his most diabolical, most desperate raids and robberies—he and his band of thieves needed all the cloaks, robes, and shelter they could purloin in preparation for winter. Autumn seemed to him the best season for thieving—neither did she drain as much energy as did Summer, nor did she constrict bodily movement as did Winter, nor was she as hope-giving as Spring. Crime was just somehow… easier… to commit during a dry, desolate season.

But what Kurama most appreciated about Autumn were her fallen leaves. They best covered his footprints and ensured his escape.

Green eyes looked straight ahead, surveying the doors of the academic institution in which he had left many a footprint and made many a memory of his human life.

_Meiou._

He stepped into the campus gates, many a memory of his human life on his mind. Now, he was about to make even more.

* * *

Kaitou dodged Setsu's eyes, clearing his throat to mask any embarrassing sound that could have escaped his lips. "My hearing fails me. Did you say something?"

"The letter E." A confident Setsu looked him straight in the eye, twirling her pencil between her left pointer and thumb. "It's the most commonly used letter in the English language, and yet it never appeared in that entire paragraph. In fact, it's the _only_ letter in the English alphabet that _wasn't_ in it. _Ne_?"

The now-tried and tested English expert took a lot less time than Kaitou thought he would.

"The clue that you give your readers is a misleading play on words," continued the younger undergrad. "When you say that 'there is nothing to it,' what you really mean to tell them is that 'there is nothing _in_ it'—namely, there is no letter E in it."

No matter how much of his pride he tried to swallow, the prospect of having an underclassman as a colleague throughout this term remained unacceptable to Kaitou. He himself was _never_ once a freshman in a senior class! And he was a celebrated genius, valedictorian with highest honors!

Suddenly, shrill, bloodcurdling screams filled the Meiou _Daigaku_ campus. The hysterical shrieks erupted from outside the windows and echoed into the hallways of the English Institute.

"A commotion?" Kaitou asked no one in particular, more startled by the suddenness of the ear-piercing cries than the potential danger they could be signaling. He gripped the arms of the teacher's chair and had halfway risen from his seat when the only other person in the room spoke.

"Don't worry." Setsu calmly closed her eyes in the midst of the riot roaring louder. "I don't believe that we have any reason to panic."

"_Always so sure of himself,"_ Kaitou observed. "Oh? And why is that?"

"If it was a fire or some other natural calamity that broke out, an alarm or two should have gone off by now."

"_True_,_"_ Kaitou caught himself red-handed, agreeing with Setsu in spite of himself. He had to admit, the boy had a sensible head on his shoulders—even if part of him wanted that head sliced clean off that neck. "_No. Too violent,_" he dismissed to himself. Regardless of how he felt towards someone, Kaitou Yuu still believed in the value of nonviolence.

"But all I hear in between female voices are _more_ female voices." An exasperated Setsu sighed to herself. "Really, whoever that popular college heartthrob is doesn't deserve all that hoopla to me."

"_Heartthrob?"_ Kaitou repeated in his mind. "_How quick of you to assume that these are screams of—"_

"I just don't see why so many fangirls could obsess over someone who is obviously _hours_ late for class."

For the first time that day, Kaitou resisted the urge to chuckle. Again, this Mayonaka-_kun_ actually had a point. Oh, well. If he _had_ to resign himself to being in the same class with the very reason the fascinating Nami was unavailable, he might as well find _something_ about the apple of her eye that he could possibly stand. At least he and the boy shared one thing in common: a lack of interest in their more… well-liked… male colleagues.

"For years, I had a classmate whose mere presence caused deafening scream-fests like this one." A small smile tugged on Setsu's lips. "The ladies just loved him so much."

Despite his best efforts not to, Kaitou found himself smiling as well. "It appears we have the same story to tell. I, too, once had a colleague who simply never failed to arouse women."

"What was so ironic about him was that he didn't actually enjoy the attention." A light laugh escaped Setsu's lips. Until now, Hagiri Kaname and his persistent girl trouble still amused her. "He always had what one could call an 'unwanted harem'."

"That's a fitting term for it." Kaitou was very slowly warming up to his new classmate now. He could definitely live with Mayonaka-_kun_'s attitude towards _bishounen_ heartthrobs like Minamino. "The one _I_ have in mind had one of those as well."

As the deathly wails of fangirls grew closer and closer, Kaitou and Setsu could hear footsteps fast approaching their classroom. The senior decided to choose a seat for himself before their other classmates cram inside.

"He graduated from Meiou High too, _ne_? I might have heard of him before," Setsu looked up in thought. "What was his name?"

"Well, to say that I'm no fan of his would be a complete and total understatement, but even _I_ must admit that you couldn't have _not_ heard of him," grunted Kaitou under his breath. "Does the name 'Minamino' ring a bell?"

Suddenly, the door to their classroom burst open, and a long, rippling wave of crimson whirled into the room.

* * *

And with him raged a violent windstorm of fangirls.

A speechless, motionless, sweat-dropping swirl of red was trapped in the very eye of a rampaging storm, reluctantly tossed, turned, and thrown back and forth. Turbulent winds thrashed as fanatical obsessions went out of control—sudden kissing, cuddling, squeezing, groping, pushing, shoving, screaming, pleading, and threatening running amuck.

Blue eyes darted from Kaitou to the redheaded newcomer. "Why yes, I believe it does." A chuckle of amusement passing her lips, Setsu whirled to face a just-arrived Kurama. "_Ne_, Minamino-_sem_—"

She stopped in mid-greeting. _I take it this isn't a good time for small talk._

Being a head taller than the wild, hot-blooded bodies tearing him apart by their sheer force served as a convenient advantage to Kurama. Green eyes shot glances past the tumultuous tornado of faces and found an exasperated Setsu and quite an expressionless Kaitou.

A vast, verdant meadow met eye to eye with a cloudless midday sky.

_Well, now could be as good a time as any._ Knowing that she had his attention despite the disaster situation in which he was caught, Setsu spoke up. "Should one of us have shut the door behind you?"

"That wouldn't have been a good idea, Mayonaka-_san_." Kurama raised his voice for her to hear him amidst his fans' squeals and screams. "Some of these students really do belong to this class."

_Now I can see why you chose career over college, and why you weren't so keen on making a comeback,_ Setsu blinked. _This isn't_ my _concept of paradise, either._

Meanwhile, on the desk to her left, Kaitou stood witness to the crazed carnage unfolding before his spectacled eyes with a strange, eerie silence, his face unreadable.

If Minamino was having a bad day…

Charcoal eyes vanished behind thick, gleaming lenses.

… Then Kaitou must be having the absolute worst day of his life.

* * *

The new front of the classroom was the back corner beside the window.

Out of all thirty-eight students in his class, Professor Lerner could count how many of them had their eyes on him using the fingers of just one hand. The exceptional Kaitou Yuu was, as he had already expected, one of them. The only other two who were actually paying any attention to him at all were the two newcomers—one of whom was unfortunately the very reason as to why the rest of the class was distracted in the first place.

The native English professor in his late fifties sighed to himself. If his pupils were to be _this_ inattentive to him for the remainder of the semester, he might as well instruct the new boy with long red hair to sit in the _front_ row instead—so that all heart-shaped eyes could at least be staring off lovingly at the right direction.

"As you all have _clearly_ noticed," began the longtime instructor of several English classes of Meiou _Daigaku_ in eloquent, effortless English. "We will have new company starting today."

His students needed not be told.

"_KYAAAAAAAAAAA~!_"

"At long last…!"

"He's here! He's really _here_!"

"I LOVE YOU!"

"HAVE MY BABIES!"

"Minamino-_samaaaaaaaa_!"

"Shuuichi-_samaaaaaaaa_!"

Her left elbow propped up on her desk, Setsu buried her chin into her left palm. _Just how_ did _Minamino_-sempai _attend high school with this batch of screamers and not lose his hearing by graduation day?_

"I see introductions aren't necessary," Professor Lerner sweat-dropped. "For one of your new classmates, at least. But all of you might be interested to know that _both_ of your new classmates were exempted from taking our beginner English courses, so they joined us in _this_ class right away."

Enlightened minds oohed and ahhed at the new trivia. The students nodded in unison, exclaiming with one voice, "As expected of Minamino-_sama_!"

Setsu did not even bother to glance at her seatmate to the left. "You must be sick and tired of all this worship of him, _ne_?"

Also looking straight ahead, Kaitou clapped his hand over his mouth, both to mask the fact that he was about to talk while class was in session—a venial sin, by his book, but a sin nonetheless—and to muffle his own voice. "Oh, believe me—'sick and tired' doesn't even _begin_ to describe it."

"Now class," continued the foreign lecturer. "I assume you have all learned the basics, and many tips and tricks as well, from our beginner classes. As I have told you time and time again, learning is a cumulative process—what you have learned in the past _will_ prove to be very useful to you in the future. And so the objective of _this_ class is to _apply_ all you've learned from your previous classes."

From across the room, a cloudless midday sky shot a glance at a vast, verdant meadow four rows of seats away. _But_ we _didn't take the same "previous classes" as everyone else in here. You suppose we'll be at a disadvantage…?_

Bored green eyes returned the fleeting look. A small artificial smile was plastered on Kurama's face.

_Oh._ Blue eyes tore from green and turned back to their instructor. _That's right—this is all ho-hum to you. Child's play._

The white-haired senior professor retrieved a stack of class cards from the breast pocket of his coat. "And I think the best way for all of you to apply the lessons and skills you have learned is to put principle to _practice_."

"_RENSHUU_?" One student exclaimed.

"You mean we gotta speak in front and all that?" Another spat in straight Japanese.

"As a matter of fact, you _will_ have to," affirmed Professor Lerner in straight English, counting his index cards to check if they were complete. "But I won't require you to submit any papers. All I intend for you to do all semester is to chat with your classmates as much as you want."

Uniformed arms pumped into the air. The Japanese college undergrads were now getting into the spirit of speaking in English.

"YEAH!"

"That's what _I'm_ talkin' about!"

"Of course, the best way for you to practice communicating in English is to have someone to communicate with in the first place," Professor Lerner evened out all thirty-eight of his index cards onto his table. "Starting today, all of you will have your own practice partners!"

"Practice partners?"

"Do we get to choose our partners?"

Setsu sighed. _Here they go again._

"I choose Shuuichi-_sama_!"

"No, _I_ choose Shuuichi-_sama_!"

"I chose Shuuichi-_sama_ first!"

"No, _I'll_ be Shuuichi-_sama_'s partner!"

"I'm gonna be his girlfriend!"

"You're not gonna be his girlfriend 'cause _I'm_ gonna be his girlfriend first!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, _you_'ll never get to be his girlfriend 'cause _I'm_ his girlfriend already!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, I'm his _wife_!"

"Oh, yeah? Where's your wedding ring?"

"Is it just me, or did their obsession never graduate from high school?" Setsu suddenly piped up amidst all the bickering. And the snarky remark just _had_ to come from the most recent high school graduate in the room…! Both Kaitou from beside her and Kurama from across the room stifled secret smirks.

"I see we have a slight problem," sighed the elderly teacher, his receding hairline thinning even more by the second. He was getting too old for this.

"NO, SIR—WE HAVE A _BIG_ PROBLEM!" erupted the loudest female voice of them all.

All eyes turned to the classroom door, which was still closed. Behind the glass panel of the door were two slender, shapely legs in form-fitting, knee-high black socks. Since the pane was at eye level for someone standing next to the door, the leggy lady behind it was either floating in mid-air or just that incredibly tall.

Neither turned out to be the case.

The knob turned, and the now-open doorway revealed the most stunning woman on campus quite comfortably perched upon a royal red pillow carried by four muscular hunks from the Meiou football team. The senior tossed back lustrous, flowing beauty salon-styled auburn waves, the tips of her tresses twirling into curls only rococo angels owned. Long lashes honey-laced batted at every man up for a taste.

With one sweeping, majestic flourish, Matsudaira Akiho clapped her hands together, and her four male minions instantly lowered their hold of her pillow for her to safely pass through the doorway. Sporting their football uniforms, the menservants took her to the only available desk left in the room. Upon another clap of her soft, porcelain hands, the best-looking of them scooped her up from her pillow bridal-style and gently, gracefully seated her upon her classroom chair as another got down on one knee and placed the pillow beneath her feet.

"That will be all!"

_Great,_ Setsu rolled her eyes to herself. _All hail the Queen._

When the last of Akiho's slaves genuflected before her and shut the door behind him, she turned to her momentarily speechless teacher. "As I was saying, Sir, we have a _big_ problem! How _dare_ you start class without me?"

Her last statement sounded much more an accusation than a question.

The guys who weren't already entertaining perverse carnal fantasies involving a certain redhead in the room glued their eyes onto the most beautiful blue-eyed brunette to have ever walked the face of the earth.

Kurama sweat-dropped at all the theatrics. Feeling a migraine coming on any minute now, Setsu massaged her temples. "Seriously?"

"You might as well get used to it," whispered Kaitou from her immediate left. "That's Matsudaira Akiho for you."

_Matsudaira Akiho…_ Setsu closed her eyes. Suddenly, before her wept a chubby, pigtailed girl with pudgy, chocolate-smeared cheeks and wearing a tattered dress, its laces frayed and stained with the same chocolate coating her cheeks. The miserable child clung onto a raggedy doll with one eye and a stitched smile, its threads loose and coming undone. Strange, faceless voices from out of nowhere rang in Setsu's ears, mocking, laughing, pointing. _Boys used to make fun of her all the time. She has come a long way since then, this ugly duckling turned swan._

"As for the rest of you!" The belle of the campus whirled to face her classmates. "From now on, you are to reserve the best seat in this classroom for me and me alone! I deserve no less than that very seat! I shall not allow this to happen again!"

Her eyes still shut, Setsu sighed to herself. _If you really want the "best seat" in the house, then just come to class earlier and beat everyone else to it. Life is as simple as one takes and makes it to be._

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves! Not thinking twice before saving me this—this—this _wretched_ chair!" Sparkling sapphire eyes shot dagger glances all around the room and stopped only when they caught sight of the beautiful boy they had missed for far too long. "Ah, but I shall let it pass… for now. I feel a whole lot better just knowing that my darling Shuu-_chan_ is back among us!" All of a sudden, Akiho burst into song. "WELCOME BAAACK, SHUU-_CHAN_ MY LOOOVE~!"

"Which brings me back to our problem," Professor Lerner finally managed to steal everyone's attention from his superstar of a student. "It seems that most of you are eyeing only _one_ student to become _all_ your partners. Because you can't peacefully select your partners among yourselves, let _me_ assign your partners to you." He flipped his class cards back, one after the other. "Mister Arisugawa, your partner will be Miss Asato."

Kurama took a pocketbook out and flipped its pages, picking up from where he had left off last time. Four rows of seats away, an uninterested Setsu folded her arms across her chest and hung her head low, her eyes still closed.

As the professor of advanced English paired off one name with the next, Kaitou listened intently, observing for any patterns in the names being called. "It seems he is arranging us by alphabetical order of our family names."

The female student sitting at his immediate left, named Sanae, nodded quietly with closed eyes. "Yes, it does seem that way."

"Wait just one damn minute!" Akiho absently mumbled to herself. "If we're being coupled by our _family names_… And my darling Shuu-_chan_'s family name is Minamino… And mine is Matsudaira…"

Setsu's chin finally dropped to her chest—she was growing sleepier and sleepier by the second.

"Then Shuu-_chan_ and _I_ will be partners!" Akiho's maniacal laughter echoed of pure evil.

_How noisy…_ The drowsy Setsu's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Miss Matsudaira…" Professor Lerner had finally come to Akiho's most awaited name.

"Say 'Minamino'! Say 'Minamino'! SAY 'MINAMINO'!" Losing control of herself, Akiho mercilessly pounded her fists on her desk.

"… Your partner will be…"

"_Say 'Minamino'! Say 'Minamino'! SAY 'MINAMINO' ALREADY!_"

"Uh…" Only one eyelid cracking open, the heavy-eyed Setsu mumbled incoherently. "If you haven't noticed, we can all hear you…"

Professor Lerner raised the card indicating the surname alphabetically following Akiho's. "… Miss Mayonaka."

"DAMMIT!"

Akiho kicked her trusty pillow away from her feet. Without warning, she gasped loudly. "Ohmigod, my feet are touching the ground! Ewww!" She wasted no time in lifting her shoes off the classroom floor. Now squatting on her seat, curled in a fetal position just to keep the soles of her brand new black leather school shoes clean, the class diva looked all around her. "Mayona-who? Who's _that_?"

_I'm the only other new student here. Who else could it be...?_ was Setsu's final thought before dozing off.

* * *

"_Miss_ Mayonaka…?" repeated Kaitou, his voice trailing off. Charcoal eyes darted to his right, where his freshman colleague sat with her arms across her chest, her head hung low, messy forelocks hiding closed eyes. He dared a peek downward and finally sighted the pleated carnation pink Meiou skirt she had been wearing all along.

"_Day One. 1343 hours._" He logged into his mental journal. "_A minor oversight on my part. I mustn't let Mayonaka_-kun _know of my error!_"

He studied that still, silent, sleeping face—that schoolboy haircut, those angry eyebrows, those short lashes, that sharp nose, those thin lips. Only now did he notice the soft line of her jaw and the faint color in her cheeks.

"_Still, I could have sworn she was a_ bishounen… _But she was just a_ pettanko _all along._" Kaitou thought to himself, soothing his bruised ego for the second time that day. "_Could I have also misconstrued her relationship with that Nami freshman as well…?_"

Professor Lerner continued reading his cards. "Mister Minamino, your partner is Miss Miyabi."

"_YATTA~!_" The senior named Yamane Miyabi hopped onto her own seat and, towering over all her classmates, began dancing to a beat of music only she could hear. As the avid fangirl wildly shook her hips about, she planted her hands on them and proudly guffawed to herself, looking down on everyone else in the room. "Shuuichi-_sama_ is _mine_! Take _that_, losers!"

"_Che_!" spat Akiho, harrumphing like the jealous forsaken lover she thought she had become. "I will not stand for this!"

"YEAH!" cried the members of the Minamino Shuuichi Forever And Ever And Ever Fan Club in unison. "Neither will we!"

Akiho pointed a spangling manicured finger at the celebrating Miyabi. "As the esteemed President of the Minamino Shuuichi Forever And Ever And Ever Fan Club, I order you to get down from there, Member Number One Hundred Twenty-Nine!"

"Aki-_chan_," cooed the calm, composed Sanae, gently stroking her best friend's arm. "Please get a hold of yourself. If you don't manage your temper, your wrinkles will show, and you wouldn't want that now, would you?"

Akiho glared at her plain-looking but peace-loving best friend. As Vice President of the Fan Club, Sanae should also learn to keep their members at bay as she herself would. But instead, Sanae never failed to rain on _her_ parade!

"Does this not offend you, Sanae?" Akiho gestured to the still shamelessly grooving Miyabi. "Do you not love Shuu-_chan_ like the rest of us?"

Her eyes still closed, Sanae merely smiled. "I love Minamino-_sama_ so much, I want him to end up partners with whoever he _wants_ to be with. Why don't we just ask him?"

The other members of the Fan Club roared in response.

"_IIYADA!_"

"We CAN'T have him choose for himself!"

"What if he doesn't pick any of us?"

"_Oi_!" Miyabi pointed at her own chest with her thumb. "Stop that, you losers! He's already mine!"

Kurama flipped to the next page of his book.

"No fair! Miyabi-_chan_ shouldn't be his partner!"

"Yeah! Miyabi isn't even her family name!"

"Yeah! _Yamane_ is her family name!"

"Oh, is that so?"

Professor Lerner's sudden interruption instantly silenced the room.

"I apologize for my mistake, then." The instructor reserved Miyabi's index card for later. "Mister Minamino, your new partner is Mister Nishizawa."

All female jaws in the room dropped. "_NANIIIIIIIIIII_?"

Nishizawa Ryunosuke, longtime treasurer of The Secret Minamino Shuuichi Fan Club For Guys And Gays, clasped his hands together, his eyes glittering and glazing in reverent awe. "Minamino…"

As the boy drooled over his fortunate fate, Kaitou stole another glance at Setsu.

"_How foolishly wise of you,_" he chuckled to himself. "_To sleep through all this._"

* * *

Kurama turned to the next page.

_Once again, our paths did cross._ Green eyes shied away from countless words and settled on a head of curly pompadour hair, eyeglasses, and freckles. _He didn't seem too pleased to see me again. He must be thinking he can't rest on his laurels for long. As for her…_ They drifted to a head of short brown hair and blue eyes he just couldn't see at the moment. _Who knew she would be in my only class this semester?_ He had not seen that face since she had left the Minamino home last summer. _Just as well. This way, I can keep an eye on her._

When he turned his attention back to the rest of his class, they were _still_ at it. Mass protest.

"But—but—but!" Akiho aimed a sparkling fingernail at the only sleeping freshman in the room. "I _can't_ be partners with _that_!"

"I can't be partners with _him_!" objected the Minamino Shuuichi fans who ended up paired with boys.

"I can't be partners with _her_!" objected the Minamino Shuuichi fans who ended up paired with girls.

"Yeah! My partner is Shuuichi-_sama_!"

"No! He's _mine_!"

"That's not possible, because he's _mine_!"

"I see we still have a slight problem." Professor Lerner sighed and shook his head to himself. The English Department of Meiou High had only kind words and generous praise for this Mister Minamino Shuuichi. The straight-A student was just as well-mannered and proper as they claimed him to be. He must not mean to… excite… his classmates as much as he was. "All right. Never mind how I assigned your partners the first time around. I will assign you a different partner this time. And whoever does _not_ become Mister Minamino's partner has to live with it. _Wakatta?_"

The class choked on their own gasps. Never before had their foreign professor uttered a word of Japanese. Was he getting angry? They didn't like him that one time he was angry…

The room fell silent. Amidst all the secret "Please let him be my partner this time!" prayers echoing in their ears, all the advanced English students could hear from outside their minds were the flip of a page and a tiny snore.

After what seemed an eternity, the lecturer finally finished rearranging his class cards.

"Miss Akiho, you will be partners with Mister Atsushi."

"Aha," exclaimed Kaitou, more to himself than to anyone in particular. "He is arranging us by alphabetical order of _first_ name this time."

Akiho caught earshot of the resident genius' realization. She winced to herself, seemingly from throes of actual physical pain. "Dammit! Why didn't my parents cooperate?" Suddenly, a realization of her own struck her alive. "But wait! Shuu-_chan_ begins with an S… and so does Sanae! That lucky bitch!" She repeatedly rapped her fingertips against each other, conspiring against the silent, smiling girl sitting next to her. "But it's _Sanae_! I'll just steal him off her later on and she won't even notice!"

"Uh…" muttered Setsu in her sleep. "… I can still hear you…"

"Mister Ryunosuke, your partner is…" Mr. Lerner turned to his next index card. "… Miss Sanae."

The two Minamino Shuuichi devotees whirled to face each other and grinned in contentment. They already knew _the_ topic of all their future conversations.

"_NANI?_" yelped a most bewildered Akiho. "But if Sanae _isn't_ my one true love Shuu-_chan_'s partner, then who—"

"Miss Setsuki, your partner is Mister Shuuichi."

This was it. There was no turning back. The rest of the class heaved a collective sigh of relief. "Glad _that_'s settled."

But to the now frozen fan club president, this new arrangement sounded much, much worse. At least her beloved Shuu-_chan_ could _never_ make babies with Nishizawa!

Akiho's world came crashing down.

* * *

"_Day Two. 1339 hours._" Kaitou noted in his journal. "_Minamino and Mayonaka's turn._"

"After this," Kurama whispered in Setsu's ear as they strode to the front of the class. "Return to my seat instead of yours."

"_Hn_?" She blinked in curiosity. "You'll tell me why later, _ne_?"

"I wouldn't have to."

Green eyes trained upon another blue-eyed brunette in the room—the older, more glamorous, noisier one.

"It was _witchcraft_!" Akiho dabbed her powderpuff on her cheeks one last time and then loudly snapped her compact mirrored powder kit shut. "That sick witch used _witchcraft_, I tell you! First, she called upon all the forces of the universe to conspire to become _my_ partner so I _wouldn't_ become Shuu-_chan_'s partner, then when _that_ didn't work out, she used the darkest of her black magic to make Shuu-_chan_ _hers_! It's an outrage! Witches shouldn't be allowed in this class!"

_If I had such powers_—Setsu rolled her eyes to herself—_and if I were so desperate to become_ Sempai_'s partner, then why would I even bother to become_ her _partner first? It just doesn't make sense._

Both she and Kurama sighed. Both Kaitou and Professor Lerner nodded.

"It _was_ quite ironic," remarked Kaitou, more to himself than to anyone else. "How the very person who eliminated her one chance of becoming Minamino's partner eventually became Minamino's partner."

"Yes, Miss Akiho," Professor Lerner responded for the nth time in a row, his tone already bordering on sarcasm. "I heard you the first two hundred times. Now," he turned his attention to the pair standing before the class. "Miss Setsuki, Mister Shuuichi, what do the two of you have for us today?"

Public speaking just did not sit well with Setsu.

_Relax, Mayonaka Setsuki. Don't feel so out of your comfort zone._ Her head hung low, Setsu bit her lip and balled her hands into loose fists at her sides. _Everyone else in this room will eventually get their turn and do exactly what you're about to._

From the corner of his eye, Kurama noticed the girl standing on his immediate right resisting the urge to tighten her fists. The fingers of his right hand twitched, nearly but never brushing against that calloused left fist. He knew much better than to hold her hand—she, not to mention all his fans watching them, would be too uncomfortable with the mere idea. The consequences were endless.

"_Saa_…" Instead he shot her a sidelong glance, his smile just as assured as it was reassuring. "_Ikimashou_?"

_Thanks for being supportive. But don't do anything too provocative,_ onegai. _For both our sakes._ After a reluctant moment, Setsu nodded curtly.

"Good day to you all, Professor Lerner, classmates," Kurama began in fluent, flowing English. "To begin, Miss Mayonaka and I will introduce ourselves to you."

_He translated "Mayonaka_-san"_ to "Miss Mayonaka"?_ Setsu blinked. _Sounds weird._

She took in a lungful of air. "Just to show you that we talked this over beforehand, Minamino-_se_—I mean, Upperclassman Minamino—" _But_ that _sounds even weirder!_ She knuckled her own temple as punishment for her inappropriate English. "—and I will introduce not ourselves, but each other."

"Miss Mayonaka's first name is Setsuki," continued Kurama, complete with dramatic hand gesture.

"And I believe all of you already know that _his_ first name is Shuuichi." Setsu casually jerked her head towards Kurama, avoiding addressing him as "Upperclassman Minamino" at all costs. _Here goes nothing._

"You might already know this too, but I'll share it with you all the same. '_Shuu_' translated to English is 'excellence,' which is a name that _most_ of you—" She shot a glance at Kaitou. _But I know that_ you _would beg to disagree._ "—will say fits him well as it is. But with the word '_ichi_,' which is translated to English as 'one,' his first name becomes even more pregnant with meaning. '_Shuu_' and '_ichi_' as a whole means upholding the virtue of 'excellence' as one's 'first' priority in life. So if someone named Shuuichi lives true to his own name, then he should be one really excellent guy."

Every girl in the room swooned and sighed dreamily. "And that, he _is_…"

"If you were wondering why his folks settled with his name," continued Setsu, less uneasy than she was mere moments ago. _Hey, they're not glaring as much anymore. I_ am _talking about their beloved, after all._ "It was because they married their own names together: _Sh_iori plus Ry_uuichi_ equals _Shuuichi_."

Kurama did not give his fangirls any time to respond.

"Thank you, Miss Mayonaka. Your first name also has a story behind it." As he shifted his attention from Setsu to their audience, his small yet mega-watt smile suddenly blasted a thousand fireworks across the room. Again, every girl in the room swooned and sighed dreamily. "Class, Miss Mayonaka's father planned to name her Kisetsu, by which he still addresses her to this day. However, her departed mother had the name Setsuna in mind. They eventually met halfway."

Setsu turned to their professor. "Sir, I believe that would be al—"

"Excuse me. Perhaps it had escaped their notice," Kurama went on. "But her parents may have had the same intention as mine. It has come to my attention that the name Setsuki could be considered, as she herself called it, a 'marriage' between the names of her parents: _Tsu_zuku and _Kise_ki."

_Hn. I never noticed that before._ Blue eyes widened. _Opening my eyes to new things again,_ ne sempai_?_

"Thank you, Miss Setsuki, Mister Shuuichi." A satisfied smile lighting his face, Professor Lerner scribbled into their respective class cards. "I see you started with the basics: your own names. Very good. I expect to learn even more about both of you in the future."

A most serious Kurama nodded. "We will not disappoint you."

Setsu threw a sidelong glance at her very formal partner. _So prim and proper…!_ She turned to their professor with a chuckle and a shrug.

Even when his two new students returned to their seats, that satisfied smile of his never faded. Now he could see why they were promoted to his advanced English class upon entry into the university—both of them were most refreshingly eloquent. But they had their differences as well.

Little did he notice that the two were heading not towards their own respective seats, but each other's.

"_Nani_?" cried a startled Akiho. "But—but—but that's _her_ chair, Shuu-_chan_! Don't sit there!" She whispered to the girl sitting directly behind Setsu's desk. "Number Thirty-One! Abort mission! I repeat: Abort mission!"

"Now?" groaned the girl holding several screws on one hand and a screwdriver with the other. "But _Kaichou_, I had just finished removing all the screws on her cha—"

"Have you no eyes, woman?" More alarmed than ever, Akiho pointed to a fast approaching Kurama. "_Shuu_-chan's about to sit there! Do you want _him_ to fall over on his beautiful ass? Put them back! NOW!"

Now sitting on Kurama's former classroom chair in the second row, Setsu propped her elbow onto the table and rested her temple on her fist, a small grin curling her lips.

_You were right,_ sempai. _They_ were _planning something._

Light blue eyes fondly gazed upon the rippling wave of crimson now at the far back of the room.

_Arigatou._

* * *

"_Day Three. 1308 hours._" Kaitou jotted down into his journal. "_Advanced English class under Lerner. First one to arrive in class. But not alone for long. Now with same two early birds as before. Prediction: Pattern will become status quo over time._"

He tore his gaze from the page and threw a long look across the room. Spectacled eyes studied the soft crimson cascade rippling behind Kurama's seat two chairs in front of his. "_Minamino: Came from office. Must have somehow successfully escaped clutches of fangirls. Not of my interest._"

Kaitou leaned forward to peer at just what his archrival was doing on his desk. "_Now reading novel._" He wrote directly under his last note. "_Old folklore. Has preference for ancient local literature?_"

"Even in between work and study, you _still_ find time to brush up on your reading, _ne_?" Without even looking at Kurama, Setsu leaned her back and one foot against the frame of their classroom door, crossing her arms before her chest.

"_Mayonaka: Came from previous class, which must have been dismissed early. Exact course number and description of previous class not yet known. Must look into this ASAP."_

The redheaded reading enthusiast looked up from his pocketbook. "This book is quite interesting, Mayonaka-_san_," Kurama held it up for her to read the front cover. "You should read it."

Setsu's lips split into a sheepish grin. "I already have."

"Don't tell me the ending, then."

"If you say so," she mumbled distractedly, keeping a close eye past the doorway, not even once stopping to glance at either of her male classmates inside the room.

Charcoal orbs squinting behind thick lenses, Kaitou eyed Setsu curiously. "_Standing by open doorway. Why? Acting as lookout for incoming fangirls? Guarding door? Has intention of restricting classmate entry? Looking for fight/s?"_

While scanning the hallways for any sign of approaching fangirls, classmates, or fangirl classmates, Setsu leaned against the thin concrete scaffolding of the doorframe, pressing the doorpost between her shoulder blades and against her spine.

"Ah." She purred contentedly to herself as she subtly used the doorpost as a back scratcher. "That's more like it."

"You should have just told me what you were doing, Mayonaka-_san_."

Setsu froze upon feeling several rounded, blunt-edged fingernails lightly touching her back—so lightly that they tickled. That mosquito bite in there was getting even itchier!

"I've been wondering, and I'm sure it has crossed Kaitou's mind as well." Now standing right behind her, Kurama paid no more attention to his book. Wispy fingertips gently scratched her back, right where the itch burned. "Here?"

Even without her turning around, he could very well see her eyelids slowly closing shut, her face flushed with silent relief.

"_1311 hours. Minamino and Mayonaka more comfortable with each other than I thought,_" Kaitou scribbled furiously into his journal. _"Other relationship/s aside from classmates?"_

_I may have overstepped my boundaries,_ Kurama felt the arch of her back slowly, carefully writhing away from his hand. _Shikashi, my only intention is to confirm that any physical contact with you brings back—_

"_Sempai_," Setsu's eyes were closed now, her brows twitching in tacit discomfort. "What do you think you're doing?"

_But you didn't tell me to stop…_ His fingers still lingering on her back, Kurama eyed the lanky shoulder right beside him. "You've grown taller."

"You didn't answer my question." A most uncomfortable Setsu nodded, looking away. "_Oyaji_ believes so, too. My skirt is shorter on me now than it was two months ag—"

"Ooh, someone's betraying her special someone else!"

Green and blue eyes flew wide open. Setsu took one big step away from a momentarily frozen Kurama.

"I don't know who you are, but I might as well break it to you: Setsu-_chan_'s already taken!"

Kurama recognized the female student's voice. It was the same shrill soprano he had heard over the telephone last summer.

Even from all the way inside the room, Kaitou spotted the petite black-haired beauty shrinking behind his two towering classmates. "_1312 hours! Nami's here!_"

"Nami," a still blushing Setsu stammered. "Aren't you supposed to be in your own class right now?"

"_Un_! But _Sensei_ always comes in late anyway, and I miss you, Setsu-_chan_!"

Kaitou got back to writing. "_Said she misses Mayonaka. Have bad feeling about this._"

Despite her being mistaken about Setsu and himself, Kurama smiled at the assuming newcomer all the same. "You must be Mayonaka-_san_'s—"

"Uh-huh!" chimed a most enthusiastic Akasaki Minaku, knowing exactly what the longhaired boy was about to say. "That, I am! Who are _you_?"

"Nami-_chan_, this is Minamino Shuuichi-_sempai_," Setsu leaned closer to her best friend and whispered into her ear, out of Kurama's earshot. "_He_'s my cousin Shuuichi's stepbrother."

Kaitou's pen was quickly running out of ink. "_Mayonaka standing too close!"_

"Oh, okay! Why didn't you just say so?" With a playful grin, Nami planted her hands on her hips and wagged a finger at them. "Still, Setsu-_chan_, if you two keep that up, _a certain someone_ might get jealous!"

Kaitou's writing hand was about to cramp any moment now. "_Said 'a certain someone' might get jealous of Minamino and Mayonaka together. Referring to herself?_" He used up the remaining three-fourths of the journal page with only the words: "_I HOPE NOT._"

"I also came here to ask you if you've seen my music player," Nami stuck out her lower lip and pouted cutely. "I've been looking for it for days!"

"_Iie_," Setsu shook her head. "I haven't seen it. Try to remember where you last saw it, _onegai_. I could help you—"

Suddenly, a throat cleared. Loudly.

"_I_ might be of assistance."

Kurama and Setsu whirled around and found Kaitou right behind them, holding a small rectangular mechanical device in his hand.

"Is _this_ that which you seek?"

For yet another holy moment, longer than ever before, Kaitou reveled in the reality of the beguiling Nami standing right before his eyes, her full attention on none other than him.

A high-pitched gasp escaped her lips.

"It _is_!"

Without warning, the ecstatic freshman threw herself at her secret admirer, catching his neck in her arms. "Ooh, I could just _kiss_ youuu~!"

Still standing by the doorway, both Kurama and Setsu watched their infatuated classmate's face burn from ear to ear, freckles and all.

Her feet casually crossed and her arms folded across her chest, Setsu rested her head against the doorframe. "Apparently, he'd like that."

Beside her, Kurama clapped a hand over his lightly laughing lips. "A lot."

The two shared knowing smiles.

* * *

Kurama was retrieving his office briefcase from his school locker when an imposing presence loomed over his shoulder.

Green eyes narrowed. _Someone wants to have a word with me._

"You must be on your way back to work." A uniformed man adjusted the rim of his glasses, their lenses gleaming against the hallway light. "I won't waste your time."

_Kaitou_. Slinging his office coat by the crook of his arm, Kurama shut his locker and whirled to face his longtime classmate and one-sided rival. "Is something troubling you, Kaitou?"

"Oh, it's no matter of life and death, Minamino. I just smell something fishy is all."

Kurama stepped closer to his bespectacled challenger-turned-comrade, leveling his ear to the latter's mouth. "I'm listening."

In a low undertone, Kaitou took advantage of their private moment alone. "Is Mayonaka-_kun_ part-_youkai_?"

A gasp caught in Kurama's throat. _Has he figured something I don't know?_ He whispered back, "Did you sense _youki_ coming from her?"

"No, not particularly," Kaitou pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose while keeping an eye out for any nearby eavesdroppers. "I just assumed she was of your own kind, given your interaction with one another. Clearly there is more to the two of you than meets the eye. I am under the impression that you are more than just classmates. Am I correct?"

Kurama's shoulders sank. _I was wrong—he doesn't have any leads after all._ "Don't think too much of it, Kaitou." With a small smile, he clapped a reassuring hand on his colleague's shoulder. "_Jitsu wa_, Mayonaka-_san_ is my—"

"Minamino-_sama_! You're still here!" cried a girl who had just turned at the corner and stumbled upon them. Suddenly, the fangirl flailed her arms about, signaling to her companions in the other hallway. "HEY, GIRLS! MINAMINO-_SAMA_ HASN'T LEFT THE SCHOOL YET!"

"Where? Where?"

"LET'S GET 'IM BEFORE HE GETS AWAY!"

_"KYAAAAAAAA~!"_

As a violent stampede of predator fangirls charged towards them at full speed and force, Kaitou's shoes nailed themselves to the floor. The unfortunate, unwilling scapegoat caught right in the middle of the hunt forced a gulp down his throat as the real targeted prey nimbly sprang to his feet and fled.

Kaitou strained to listen to the only male voice drowned out amidst the fangirls' ferocious roars, snarls, and howls.

"—cousin!" was the last, and only, word he heard.

* * *

He still knew the master password.

The light from the computer monitor shone on Kaitou's face, the lenses of his eyeglasses reflecting the contents of the LCD screen.

"No matter how many times I do this, I never tire of it," he remarked to himself with a sly, victorious half-smile. Without even glancing at the keyboard before him, he typed in the master password and pressed Enter. In an instant, he had gained illegal access to the online database of the entire Meiou system.

"Once again," he proceeded to hack into the scholastic records of a certain student in the roster. "Time to size up the competition."

Spectacled charcoal eyes scanned the student data sheet that he had read—and memorized by heart!—too many times before:

MINAMINO SHUUICHI  
Old standing: Third Year; took two-year Leave of Absence (LoA)  
Reason for LoA: Work  
New standing: First Year, advanced class  
Date of birth: 22 June 1975  
Age as of last database update: 19  
Parents  
a. Father: Minamino Ryuuichi (deceased)  
b. Mother: Minamino Shiori (42)  
Degree course chosen: Undeclared as of last database update  
Recommended degree courses: All (especially Biology, Botany, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry, Geology, Physics, Foreign Languages, all Science and Engineering degrees)  
Sports of mastery: Chess, Martial Arts (earned black belt in judo, karate, tae kwon do, aikido, and jujitsu), Swimming, Ballroom Dance, Gymnastics  
Sports encouraged: Bodybuilding and strength sports (e.g. weightlifting)

Upon reading that last line, a chuckle escaped Kaitou's lips. "True—he _could_ use a muscular workout." But despite his amusement with his classmate's area of improvement, he could hardly resist burning the rest of the record with his eyes. "'A' plus… 'A'… 'A' plus-plus… 'A'… 'A' plus… 'A' plus-plus… All 'A' pluses… Outstanding Student of the Year… Graduate with highest honors…" He snorted to himself. "With the minor exception of his and his mother's ages, his record hasn't changed over the years!"

He paused to stretch his fingers, and soon typed a whirlwind of words into the keyboard. "Now, for a file I've never read…"

Suddenly, a new page appeared on the screen:

MAYONAKA SETSUKI  
Standing: First Year, regular classes plus one advanced Fine Arts and one advanced English class  
Date of birth: 18 September 1977  
Age as of last database update: 17  
Parents  
a. Father: Mayonaka Tsuzuku (49)  
b. Mother: Mayonaka Kiseki (deceased)  
Degree course chosen: Fine Arts  
Recommended degree courses: Fine Arts, Foreign Languages (especially English), Psychology, Philosophy, Literature, Speech Communication, Physics  
Sports of mastery: Bowling, Shot Put, Sharpshooting, Javelin Throw, Archery, Swimming  
Sports encouraged: Teamwork sports (e.g. basketball)

"If they are indeed cousins," Kaitou mused to himself. "Nothing in both their records indicates them as such. The only data that they have in common are 'Foreign Languages,' 'Physics,' 'Swimming,' and one 'deceased' parent! That Minamino—he must have lied to me!"

He got a grip on himself by adjusting his glasses. "But no matter. My efforts are not in vain. I shall make this worth my while." He proceeded to read of Setsu's high school grades. "'A' plus-plus in Arts and English, I see… 'B'… 'B' plus… 'A' minus… 'B'… 'A'… 'B' plus… A 'D' in World History! Does this girl not read?" He shook his head to himself, appalled horror written all over his face. "Another 'D'! Home Economics! Failed a Sewing course! It's any wonder she graduated at all!"

Kaitou could take no more. With neither second thought nor hesitation, he closed the explorer window altogether. "Why did I even waste my time on that underachiever? And to think that I mistook her for serious competition! Never again!"

* * *

"_Day Four. 1301 hours._" Kaitou scribbled into his journal. "_English. Lerner. Minamino not yet here. May still be in office. Mayonaka early as always. Drawing into sketchpad._"

He cleared his throat to grab her attention. "Mayonaka-_kun_, I've been meaning to ask you a personal question since I first saw you and Minamino together."

"_Hn_?" In the middle of shading with her pencil, Setsu looked up from her sketchbook, tipping up the front brim of her blue sports cap. _I hope it's not about… Darn it._

"Despite his popularity with them, Minamino does not take much pleasure in the company of women. In all my years as his colleague, I have known him to be more reserved than sociable. Yet he seems to have warmed up to you this early into the semester. Could the two of you be…" Kaitou paused for dramatic effect. "… more than just classmates?"

_You already asked him that yesterday,_ ne_?_ Setsu blinked. _Why the need for reinforcement from me?_ "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Could you be…" Eyeglass lenses glinted ominously. "… related to him, for one?"

_Well, not to_ him _per se…_ Setsu shook her head. "_Iie_. I'm not."

Suddenly, the new look on Kaitou's face was simply indescribable. Something in him just… snapped.

_Uh… Are you all right?_ "_Ne_, are you—"

"_Uso_."

Setsu tightened her grip on her pencil.

"_Uso_," Kaitou spat again, this time more threateningly. He shut his journal with a loud whack and bolted up from his classroom chair. "You're hiding something, Mayonaka-_kun_. Something between you and Minamino."

Setsu did not flinch. "Really? Last I checked, I'm not the one in this room trying to hide his romantic feelings for anyone, much less for a certain Nami-_chan_—"

Blood flooded to Kaitou's cheeks. All he could do was turn his face away. "I have no such feelings for—"

"Who's lying now?" scoffed a knowing Setsu.

"Romance was far from what _I_ had in mind for Minamino's and your case," insisted the blushing man in denial. "But since you were so quick to bring it up yourself, then that gives me enough reason to think _that_'s what you're hiding from me! You and Minamino are—"

"Leave Minamino-_sempai_ out of this." Setsu finally stood up from her seat as well. "If you have a problem with me, then deal with only me."

"I see you're becoming defensive." Charcoal eyes narrowed behind thick-rimmed specs. "You're protecting him. I should tell Minamino of just how protective you are of him—"

"And while you're at it, I'll go tell Nami-_chan_ that she has a not-so-secret admirer."

Without a moment of delay, Setsu raced to the door as fast as her legs could carry her.

"_Matte_!"

She stopped in her tracks to hear him out for one last time.

"We have reached a stalemate, Mayonaka-_kun_. You will only keep using that Nami girl against me, and I in turn will invariably use Minamino against you. Slandering each other before them is a childish pursuit and will eventually only work against our favor. I have a better idea."

Setsu cocked an eyebrow. "And what 'better idea' could possibly assure me that we will never speak ill of each other behind each other's backs?"

"How about we play a little game…"

Kaitou's lips twisted evilly.

"… where neither of us could speak at all?"

* * *

_The first round of speeches isn't over yet_. Kurama was lost in thought as he strode into Meiou, briefcase in hand. _Mayonaka_-san _and I won't speak in front today._

_Then again, even if we have to, I'm sure we'll come up with something._

Suddenly, a tremendous blast of _reiki_ shot past his feet. The maelstrom of energy exploded from inside the campus grounds and broke past the gates and into the city.

_Someone's Territory!_ Green eyes widened in alarm. _It's expanding!_

* * *

_Could she be in danger? Could her enemy be hunting her down right now?_

He did not stop to rest even after sprinting up a flight of stairs to the fourth floor of the English Institute.

Threads of sweat now dripping down his brow, Kurama sped past every fan greeting, glomping, and groping him along his way to his only classroom for the semester. From across the long hallway, he could make out a most familiar open doorway. This time, it wasn't being guarded.

_She's not there!_ He silently winced to himself. _She should be inside the room, unless—!_

The hurried, harried English student burst through the door. "Mayonaka-_sa_—!"

Blue eyes looked up from an overused sketchpad and blinked at him.

"_Ko…_" Kurama suddenly found himself at a loss for words. "_Konnichiwa._" He stammered slowly, relief flooding into his system.

Setsu merely nodded in response.

As all his fangirl classmates huddled in a corner and burbled amongst themselves, still reeling from the shock of hearing their most beloved call out the name of another girl, Kurama headed over to Setsu's desk and spoke in a low whisper. "Did you sense something strange just now?"

_Even if you don't tell me anything else, you could at least tell me that you_ know _you're in danger._

She shook her head, still not uttering a word.

_She's quieter than usual._ "Is something wrong?"

Again she shook her head.

Green eyes narrowed. "Mayonaka-_san_, when did you and Hagiri-_kun_ first start seeing each other?"

A startled eyebrow shot up, but still Setsu said nothing.

_Something_ is _wrong_, concluded Kurama. _She can't speak!_

"Now I understand." Green eyes roamed around the entire room and came to rest on the group of fangirls still clustered in one corner. _Did_ they _pull another prank on her—blackmail her into not speaking to me? Or…_

Kurama turned to the resident journal keeper seated in the other corner of the room.

"Kaitou, do you know why…?"

Charcoal eyes hidden behind thick, ominously gleaming lenses, Kaitou only smirked at him. But it was enough.

_Masaka!_ Kurama bit back a gasp. _This is Kaitou's Territory!_

_And all words are Taboo!_

**Continued**

Since we're all familiar with Kaitou's Territory and power of Taboo, you might ask me why only he and Setsu were spellbound when _everyone_ within the ten-meter radius of his Territory should have also been cursed. Well… there's a hidden force at work here. Find out what—and whose—it is in the next chapter! ^^

I hope Kaitou wasn't too OOC for comfort. I just assumed that he had… grown up. Without Kurama around to snag the top scholastic spot from him, Kaitou must have finally learned to loosen up, sit back, take his eyes off his textbooks and ogle at… well, whoever he finds attractive. The boy's already in college—his raging teenage hormones _must_ have kicked in by now. XD Let's just give him a chance at his own romance, okay? ^-^

P.S. Would you believe this is the mercilessly _cut_ version of this chapter? This was supposed to include _three_ fight scenes, a glimpse into the cult-like practices of the Minamino Shuuichi-I'd-Rather-Not-Type-That-Totally-Embarrassing-Fan-Club-Name-Again, and a (suggestive) dialogue between—! But I edited them out at the last minute… to help relieve your eyestrain and our brainbleed. XD

And to thank you for reading this far… Here's a sneak peek into Chapter 17!

"_KURAMA!_"

He froze in his tracks the very moment she crashed into his back.

_Mayonaka_-san_! The Taboo!_

Even before he could whirl around to face her, a denim blue sports cap crowned his head. Without another word, she buried her face in his hair.

_Your first time to call me…! Doomed to be your last!_

Calloused fingers slid down his sleeves and weaved between his own. Her hands swallowed his and refused to let go.

_Holding on to me…_

Kurama hung his head low, the brim of her cap hiding his eyes from view.

… _will not save your soul._

He would not see her turn to stone.

Review, review~! Thank you! ^-^

**Japanese to English translations and abridged YYH glossary**

_**aa**_ and _**un**_. Slang for _yes_ and other such words of agreement or affirmation  
_**akasaki**_. _Red tip / red point_ (_aka_ is the color_ red_, and _saki_ is _tip_ or _point_), used as a name in this fic  
**_aki_**. _Autumn_  
_**akiho**_. _More [insert adjective here] than autumn_ (_ho_ serves as an adjective expressing comparison, the full meaning of which depends on the adjective supporting it), used as a name in this fic  
_**arigatou**_. _Thank you_, less formal than _arigatou gozaimasu  
__**bishounen**_. _Beautiful young man  
__**Botan**_. _Peony_, used as a name in this fic  
**-**_**chan**_. An honorific used to address _girls_, _animals_, or anything that the speaker considers to be cute; indicates great closeness or intimacy when used to address _boys  
__**che**_. A grunt or expression of disapproval, not limited to the Japanese language  
_**daigaku**_. _University / college  
__**eeto**_, _**eh**_, _**hn**_, and _**maa**_. Disfluencies of speech (much like the English _uh_ and _um_), not limited to the Japanese language  
_**Genkai**_. _Limit_, used as a name in this fic  
_**hai**_. _Yes  
__**iie**_. _No  
__**iiyada**_. _I absolutely refuse / No way_ (Please compare with _masaka_ below)  
_**ikimashou**_. _Let's go_; when used in question form, _shall we go  
__**itoko**_. _Cousin  
_'_**ji-san**_. A contraction of _Oji-san_, a respectful address for one's own _uncle  
__**jitsu wa**_. _Actually_; Kurama almost always uses this when he begins explaining_  
__**'**__**kaa-san**_. A contraction of _Okaa-san_, a respectful address for one's own _mother  
__**kaichou**_. _President  
__**Kaname**_. _Strength_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Karasu**_. _Crow_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kawaii**_. _Cute_  
_**kiseki**_. _Miracle_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kisetsu**_. _Season_, used as a name in this fic  
_**kitsune**_. _Fox  
__**Koenma**_. _Little Enma / child of Enma_, used as a name in this fic  
_**konnichiwa**_. _Good day_, used as a greeting any time of the day (as opposed to _ohayou_, which is used only in the morning)  
**-**_**kun**_. An honorific used to address _boys_ or boyish girls  
_**Makai**_. _Demon World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**masaka**_. _No way / impossible_ (Please compare with _iiyada_ above)_  
**matte**_. _Wait_  
_**mayonaka**_. _Midnight_, used as a name in this fic  
_**megane**_. _(Eye)glasses_, used to address Kaitou Yuu in this fic  
_**Minamino**_. _Southern field_, used as a name in this fic  
_**miyabi**_. The very embodiment of the ideal Japanese woman, roughly translated as _elegance_, _refinement_, and _courtliness_; used as a name in this fic  
_**nami**_. _Wave_, used as a nickname in this fic  
**_nanda yo_**. A forceful way of asking _what_ (_yo_ has no meaning in itself, but stresses the statement in which it is used; used only by males)  
_**nani**_. _What  
__**ne**_. An expression for seeking confirmation (much like the English tag questions _isn't it_ or _okay_)  
_**Ningenkai**_. _Human World_ (as opposed to the Demon World, Spirit World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**oi**_. An expression similar to the English _hey_, not limited to the Japanese language  
_**onegai**_. _Please_, less formal than _onegaishimasu  
__**oyaji**_. _Old man_, used to address one's own father in this fic  
_**pettanko**_. Literally translated as _girl with small breasts_; may be used to refer to a boyish-looking girl, regardless of the size of her chest  
_**Reikai**_. _Spirit World_ (as opposed to the Human World, Demon World, and Netherworld of YYH)  
_**reiki**_. _Spirit(ual) power_, wielded by _ningen_ (as opposed to _youki_)  
_**renshuu**_. _Practice_  
_**saa**_. A disfluency of speech commonly used as a silence filler (much like the English _uh_ and _um_); Kurama uses this to mean _so_  
_**-sama**_. An honorific used to address someone very respectfully, like _lord_ or _master_; indicates great submissiveness when a wife uses this to address or refer to her husband  
**-**_**san**_. An honorific used to address someone politely  
**-**_**sempai**_. An honorific used to address an upperclassman_**  
**_**_sensei_**. _Teacher__**  
setsu**_. _Opinion_, used as a nickname in this fic  
_**setsuna**_. _Moment (in time)  
__**-shihan**_. An honorific used to address a female master of a skill or art (such as martial arts) in a formal, archaic manner  
_**shikashi**_. _However  
__**Shiori**_. _Guidebook_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Shuuichi**_. _Excellence first_, used as a name in this fic  
_**tsuzuku**_. _Continuation_, used as a name in this fic  
_**uso**_. _(That is a) lie  
__**wakatta**_. _I understand_; when used in question form, _do you understand  
__**yatta**_. An interjection expressing success or great pleasure, much like the English ___yay_, ___yahoo_, or ___woo hoo_  
_**youkai**_. _Demon  
__**youki**_. _Demon(ic) power_, wielded by _youkai_ (as opposed to _reiki_)  
_**Yusuke**_. _Ghost helper_, used as a name in this fic  
_**Yuu**_. _Ghost_, used as a name in this fic

For the nth time, if I missed anything that you need translating or explaining, just say so in the Reviews page. **Please REVIEW! Thank you very much! ^-^**


	17. The Convenient Telepath

**A/N  
**Have a very, very merry, merry Christmas, Christmas, everyone! \^o^/ For those who celebrate other occasions during this time of year… May your holidays be just how you want them to be! ^w^

**Holiday Dedications  
**Chapter 17 is dedicated with lots of peppermint, mistletoe, and love to:

**Pewter Queen**-_san_: Sorry about that cliffhanger of a sneak peek. (It was evil of me, I realize.) Well, at least you'll be able to read the continuation now. ^^; (You can tell the angry mob you summoned to put away their pitchforks now. And their torches, too, if they had any. XD)

What could you have forgotten, then? *question mark pops up above my head* Kaname and Setsu's "falling out" in Chapter 16 may not be as… conclusive… as it seemed. (Just read this chapter to find out why. ^^) And Setsu just _looks_ like a boy—she doesn't have the heart of a lesbian or anything. (In fact, I should say she has a thing for pretty boys. XD)

Thank you for the virtual chocolate you gave me! \^o^/ I do feel much better now. Got my rhythm back. (This new chapter was just really challenging to write.) You definitely had a point about the effects of morphine—I should have been in raptures after my surgical operation. Maybe I'd taken too little a dose of it. (It was administered to me through a patient-controlled anesthesia line, so I myself kept a tight rein on my intake of it. Didn't want an overdose, you see.) Thank you, too, for believing in me even when I myself didn't! I truly appreciate it. ^-^

P.S. "Fanbase." Wow. I'm flattered. *blushes*

**alphaprincess0803**-_san_: Hey there! I'm so happy to hear from you! ^-^ But I'm also sorry to hear about what had happened to your first review. That happens to me, too—and I just hate it when it does! XS I still thank you for it, even if I didn't get to read it. ^^ Please accept my apologies, too, if my including your name on "_that_ list" embarrassed you. *hangs head in shame* It is not at all of my intention to embarrass anyone or put anyone on the spot—it all started when I listed down the usernames of everyone reading this in Chapter 11, so I've been giving a shout-out of sorts to every new reader to have also subscribed to this little fanfic of mine since then. Thank you for your feedback on that. I'll do it differently from now on, then. ^_^

Thank you, too, for your praise! ^-^ I think my anesthetics have all been flushed out by now. I'm feeling a lot better now than when I was typing Chapter 16. I appreciate your concern. ^^ Oh, and I hope your Halloween was happy! (I totally forgot about it when I posted the last chapter. ^^;)

P.S. Nice to meet you, Theresa! I'm Lauren. (It's so far from "Mikageshi" that it's ridiculous, isn't it? XD)

**LilyMoonstone**-_san_: Thank you! ^-^ That's a very good guess you've got there! But I can't tell you if you're right or wrong, though. Wouldn't want to spoil this fanfic for you now that we've gotten this far! ^^

P.S. I love your username. XD

**Shush Love**-_san_: Thank you so much, too, for continuing to read and review this little fanfic of mine! ^^ Sorry to keep you waiting! Here's the next chapter! (Yeah! Go Tsuki~! XD)

P.S. I love your avatar. XD

**krm3DeeDee**-_chan_: You're right—I _did_ have you in mind while I was sharing the particulars of my surgical operation in my Author's Note for Chapter 16. At the time I posted Chapter 15, I couldn't disclose most of the details because I learned of them only _after_ my surgery. (I knew but so little of just what I was getting myself into. *sweatdrops*)

While you've always wanted to hit Kurama once, I've always wanted to hit _on_ Kurama once. XD (It would be wrong of and for me to do it vicariously through Setsu, though. She doesn't flirt. ^^;)

Wow. I feel so honored. Thank you for faithfully following this YYH fic of mine even if you're into TeniPuri now. ^-^

As for the blonde boy whom Kuwabara saw… I can't tell you if that was the Seaman all right, but you're on to something. ^^ In fact, you're very close to the truth. XD

I think Botan found Setsu "creepy" because she isn't used to anyone calling her "Botan-_sama_"—much less someone she's never met before. (Or someone whom she _thinks_ she's never met before… *wink*)

Ooh! You'll draw Setsu? *eyes glitter in hope* I would be even more honored than I already am! \^o^/ Please, be my guest! But as always, no pressure—just encouragement. ^^

"Is this the last time we see Sniper, I wonder?" The answer to that is in this very chapter. ^-^

Yeah, Kaitou does remind me of both Inui and Yanagi… except he neither plays sports nor concocts signature juices. XD Oh, and his soft spot for Nami—and his not-so-soft one for Setsu—were pivotal to the plot of this fic. (If he didn't have them, he couldn't essay the role of antagonist in Chapters 16 and 17!) What I noticed about Kaitou in YYH canon was that he was the only one among the three human psychics under Genkai who actually harbored a grudge on one of the main characters. Kido and Yanagisawa obviously had nothing personal against Yusuke and the gang, so only he came across as a convincing villain to me. The moment I watched him compare school test scores with Kurama, I knew they had another kind of "score" to settle with each other. XD

That reminds me—I haven't used the "RFGs" shorthand yet. Actually, I already _did_ in Chapter 16, but since I cut _a lot_ of scenes out from that chapter, it didn't appear in my finished product. Thank you for complimenting me on the "substance" of their individual personalities. You'll see more of that in this new chapter. I must apologize, though—you _will_ also get to see of one of their "official meetings" sometime soon. But please don't worry; it won't be mind-scarring to read. Anymore. ^^

As for Kurama and Setsu switching seats… I think he's getting sweeter. ^-^ (Watch out for them ants, Kurama! They bite! XD)

I noticed you read all the way to the teaser / sneak peek. The questions you formed from there were quite exciting. *nods* The answers to them are in this chapter. They might not be what you expect them to be.

Kaitou and Nami… Hmmm. *lost in thought* You might see another "new pairing" in this chapter. They might not be whom you expect them to be, either.

I can't thank you enough for all your support, DeeDee-_chan_. Your belief in me is just inspirational. ^-^

P.S. A belated happy birthday to you~! *waves celebratory pompoms in the air* *not a cheerleader, so doesn't look that good doing it* XD Sorry I missed it. But I hope it was just what the doctor ordered! XD (Pun intended. *shameless depraved grin*)

**unknown player**-_san_: Ooh. You and Setsu have the same taste in YYH men, then. XD Thank you for your compliments! And your concern as well! ^-^

Sorry if the details of my surgical operation had upset you. It was not of my intention to gross anyone out. At least I'm cured now. ^^ I won't mention them again.

Yeah—The Secret Minamino Shuuichi Fan Club For Guys And Gays (In short, The Fan Club For GAGS. XD) I'm glad to know it made you laugh. ^-^ And oh yes, those misbehaving fans shall get their just desserts… when the time is right. ^^

P.S. Thank you for reminding me to rest. I'm such a stress addict, I tend to forget. ^^;

And **Kajihenge Yoko**-_san_: Hello! Thank you for supporting all three of my YYH fanfics so far—and me, too! (I feel so loved! ^^)

As for Kurama's birthday… I once saw it for myself—well, the numbers 6 and 22, anyway—in a Japanese anime magazine scanned (but not translated) and posted around the Internet. But I can't be too sure if those numbers really _do_ stand for the month and date of his birth, because I'm still just a beginner at reading _kanji_ and _kana_. ^^; But one of his (many) Facebook pages, plus a now-extinct YYH shrine I checked out years ago (I think a decade ago *sweatdrops*), _did_ also cite it as June 22. (Not only did that shrine have the birthdays of the Sensui Seven, Keiko, and Kurama in there; it had Yusuke's, Kuwabara's, and several others as well! Too bad its webmaster abandoned it for good. T.T) So I don't think there even _is_ a reliable birthday source for YYH out there. Not anymore, anyway.

P.S. Your username… Hiei and Kurama together—am I right? ^-^ I hope to hear from you again!

Here's a shout-out to **Melancholy-Symphony**, who just joined us in Chapter 16! I hope to hear from you soon! ^^

And as I always say before every chapter… Happy reading! ^-^

* * *

A black flame flickered in its wick, thrashing against the wind yet never snuffed out. Hot white crackled at its base, but this roaring tongue of fire blazed the hottest at its tips of blue.

Hiei.

To the Eternal, he was a black candle burning in the night, his scalp and eye sockets hearths for four different hues of fire.

Crimson flares basked in the midnight horizon. _Ningenkai_ days were just too sunny for his taste, so he drank in the view of the city skyline only in the unholy hours of the night. Its nights had an undisturbed, tranquil beauty to them, a soothing serenity nowhere to be found during its busy, bustling daytime. Much as he would never admit it, Hiei took a certain comfort in the soft, warm cheek of night; a motherly bosom. He had a secret name for her.

Hina.

No one would ever know.

Suddenly, the wail of a siren stabbed his silence. From the view deck atop the tower, Hiei glared upon the nuisance that had so intruded into his once peaceful night. A flash of red leapt right at his eyes and slashed across his beloved darkness.

"Tch."

But whatever the pest was, it didn't stay long. The blinding red soon died into the distance. Good.

"It's called an ambulance."

Only one voice in all worlds readily answered whatever question he never even asked aloud. He never had to. They had always been that way.

Hiei aimed his glare at another flash of red, this one not blinding at all, and more of a pleasure to see. Kurama would never know that, though.

Maybe he already did.

"_Ningen_ name the most annoying things."

The ambulance was nowhere in his sight now, yet that glaring red remained with Hiei, lingering in his eyes. It would stay there awhile.

"Annoying as it may sound, it was designed that way to provoke a sense of urgency." Kurama folded his arms across his chest, his hands cupping his elbows. "An ambulance is a sign of emergency—the passengers it carries are always in need of immediate medical attention. Every driver on the road has an obligation to give way for the ambulance to pass."

"Hmph." If that irritating noisemaker caused those other mechanical bugs crawling on the streets to yield to it and submit to its demands, then maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

"That siren you heard, Hiei. It's a requiem to many ears."

The wind howled between them, and a ripple of red billowed into the night. Kurama closed his eyes.

"Oftentimes the unfortunate _ningen_ who enter those ambulance doors never come out of them alive."

And it even killed whoever steps forth into it? It wasn't as annoying as he thought it was. Somehow Hiei was beginning to learn to live with it now, even if only to learn the tricks of its trade.

"The ambulance," Kurama opened his eyes again and trained them upon the crowds down in the streets—busy, tiny ants teeming in the much too controlled environment of their metropolitan human anthill, forever crawling side by side in an organized, infinite line. "It goes to show the value _ningen_ place on their lives. In this world, the strong strive for their weak loved ones to live, no matter how impossible it may be. And even the weakest of the ill is considered deserving of cure and care."

The ambulance didn't exist in _Makai_. And for a good reason. _Makai_ life—that damned existence inhospitable to all who survived living it, and even more merciless to those who didn't—was urgent enough without it.

Both of them were born in a kill-or-be-killed world where survival and self-preservation were top priority and abandonment was a necessary evil. The land of their birth needed no ambulances, for anyone critically injured or gravelly ill was automatically left for dead. Their lives were a constant, never-ending emergency; danger and death lurked every corner, every patch of earth. The strong vanquished the weak, and that was that. None of them could afford the time or interest to save any life other than their own.

But _ningen_… They couldn't afford them, either. But they did anyway.

If there was one thing Kurama had ever convinced him about humanity, it was about their sense of loss.

It was intense.

They grappled with this sense of loss like it was essential to their survival.

Such weak, disposable bodies, yet capable of carrying intimate burdens heavier than that of a god bearing the sky on his shoulders. Such powerless hands, yet those very hands foolishly grasp pain in its rawest of form.

Their sense of loss drove them to emotional heights and potentials unattainable to all _youkai_. _Youkai_ were numb to this sense of loss. They had to be. They could lose everything in their lives—including their very lives—in the blink of an eye. Actually, so could _ningen_. But they chose to embrace that cutting sense of loss anyway.

Kurama was one of them now.

Hiei looked at him with new eyes. This _youkai_… so well-adjusted to this world, this world so strange, so foreign, so… different from their own. How long had the legendary Youko Kurama held on to his humanity? A little over two decades. That wasn't much. Twenty _ningen_ years saw some _youkai_ still struggling with their baby steps.

But Kurama… He never lost his demon essence—he remained cutthroat, calculating, even as a human. Yet he passed off as a convincing human. In fact, for one of _them_, he was…

A clenched right fist pressed onto the glass.

… beautiful.

"Everything he sees!"

The same fist suddenly smashed the mirror. As countless cold splinters flew in all directions, a violently trembling hand caught the sharpest shards in its palm.

Blood trickled from both cracks—in the wounded looking glass, and along the shattered hand.

"I want it all!"

**17: The Convenient Telepath  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **Youko-**_**sempai**_

The juicy thrust of a sword into skin. Muscle and tendon torn apart. What would have been a cry for help had it not snagged in the throat. Knees smacking onto cold, hard underground. The reverberating thud of a body never to stand again.

The demons behind bars heard it all. The sounds of death. Such sweet music to their ears. It's been so long since they last enjoyed it.

They strained to hear more, those whose stomachs rumbled the loudest wrapping their arms around themselves to muffle the growl of their own starvation, those whose ears could not take any more of the distracting noise stabbing their inmates to death with their long, long-uncut claws.

* * *

All he saw were a flicker of black and a flash of swinging blade.

Even before he could call for reinforcements, the sentry on duty found himself sinking to his knees then falling face-first onto the floor. His eyes and mouth stood agape as blood leaked out of his troop uniform and pooled around his now lifeless body.

A bandaged hand slotted a sharp-edged sword back into its sheath strapped across his back.

"One less fool left in this world."

The assassin smirked to himself.

"That's not something he would say."

Black boots trudged towards the nearest jail cell. The demons trapped within heard his steps. The closer he approached, the more agitated they grew, and the more desperate their cries to be freed.

The raven-haired, crimson-eyed man with the air of a demon peeled off the gauze tightly binding his right arm, unwinding the war-torn cloth just until his wrist. He stared at his hand in silence. In the blink of an eye, his fingers grew longer and the lines of his palm enmeshed into another identity altogether. He pressed his naked hand against the fingerprint scanner by the dungeon door.

As a ray of red light beamed from the tips of his fingers to his wrist, he punched in a series of numbers on the keypad wired to the Level Three _Reikai_ Underground Detention Facility mainframe. Without waiting to be asked for the succeeding passwords, he keyed in code after top-secret code, his nimble fingers never missing a single key. Soon the three solid steel bars blocking the locks of the confinement chamber creaked off their latches, which prompted the metal wheel behind them to turn on its own. When the final deadbolt unlocked, the cell door swiveled open.

A most nauseating stench assailed his senses. Spilled blood and guts lined the walls of the cell, most decomposed and putrefied for years, some fresher than others—more recent. Stray bones and carcasses hung everywhere the eye could see. Even the demons that lived to taste their much-coveted freedom reeked of death, disease, and bodily waste.

"FINALLY!" yelled one of them at the top of his lungs.

"We owe ya one!" A grateful yet sneaky grin lit the thinned, emaciated face of another.

A demon snake hissed and slithered past them. "Sssssorry, boys! I'm outta here!"

"Yeah! Me too!"

As the demons in detention stampeded out of their prison cell, a good number of them ramming their way through the open doorway, their liberator spoke up.

"And where do you all think _you're_ going?"

The demons stopped dead in their tracks. Something about the pint-sized punk's eyes told them that they had seen oceans of blood in their time, and that they remained thirsty for more.

"Come on! You already let us go! Now let us go for good!" objected a demon with dragonfly wings.

"Whaddya want from us?"

"Your freedom comes with a price," continued the demon in the black cloak. "I did what you wanted me to do. Now it's _your_ turn to do something for _me_."

"HA!" scoffed a heavily built demon with long branching antlers and a nose ring pierced in between both his nostrils. "What makes ya think we'll do as y' say? Y' were dumb enough t' free us without us doin' anythin' for ya!"

The rest of the prisoners howled in agreement.

"See this?"

The demon with blue streaks and a white starburst in his hair suddenly yanked the white blindfold off his brow to reveal a _Jagan_ with a purple iris artificially implanted on his forehead.

"_This_ gives me the power to see you wherever you go. You will not escape me no matter what."

"So?"

"If you don't do as I say, you leave me no choice but to take your life."

"OH, YEAH?" The bull-deer hybrid stepped forward, towering over his small, sinister savior. His nostrils expelled low, heavy grunts as he shoved his pointy antlers right at the three-eyed demon's face and scraped his massive hooves against the underground, poised to charge and attack at any moment. "WHY DON'TCHA TRY TAKIN' MINE, YA DAMN—"

The gigantic demon had not even finished his angry reply when his mud brown fur suddenly paled a ghostly white. The other convicts could only listen to his screams of pain as he shriveled and shrunk until he crumbled into fine dust.

"Any more questions?" spat the swordsman with the _Jagan_.

The remaining demons swallowed the knots in their throats and waited for his orders.

"Now," the raven-haired man's lips twisted into a leer of the most perverse pleasure he had ever known. "I have a twin living in _Ningenkai_." He laughed at the truth in his words. From this point on, honesty would never pass his lips again. "Finish him."

"But how're we supposed t' know what yer twin looks—"

A blinding white flash sliced the dimwitted demon in half.

"I have no need for fools to do my bidding." Three eyes shot dagger glares at the other demons. "As my twin, he and I share the same face! If you want to live, make sure he dies!"

The demon inmates burbled amongst themselves, wondering why the puny demon still enlisted them to claim the life of his own twin brother when he already seemed perfectly capable of slaying him himself. At this point, the demon robed in black refused to entertain any more questions. "Enough talk. Now get out of my sight before I finish you all!"

He needed not say any more. Without another word, the demons fled the underground detention facility with cuffs on their wrists and fear in their eyes. His wings vibrating at full speed, the demon dragonfly had just lifted his feet off the underground when the _Jaganshi_ threw his sword right at the scruff of the insect's neck. The maimed demon fell before his feet, landing on—and crushing—his wings.

"So much for your plan to escape to _Makai_. You can't do _that_ anymore."

"But how…" The fallen fly reached towards his own back to pull the blade out of his thorax, only for his (lack of) strength to fail him. "… did you know…?"

"Hmph. I don't answer to anyone I've beaten in battle."

A shadow eclipsing his face, Hiei turned his back on the dying demon and vanished, but not before a strand of green grew out and flowed from his scalp, and crimson eyes sullied into black.

* * *

Crimson forelocks hiding green eyes, Kurama set his briefcase down on the desk next to Kaitou's, unbuckled its locks, and took out a notepad and a pen. He placed the pad on his bespectacled classmate's table, atop the boy's journal.

"Now," he handed Kaitou his ballpoint pen. "Talk."

Kaitou brushed the writing instrument aside and picked up his own pen tucked between the pages of his journal. He scribbled into the front sheet of the notepad before him. "_What's wrong, Minamino? Hard day at the office?_"

"You know very well what's wrong."

Even without seeing his eyes, Kaitou could feel the slow burn of Kurama's gaze. His husky alto more guttural than usual, the typically even-tempered demon-human gnashed his teeth between his words.

"Your childish games were unnecessary to ensure her silence. She has long had an invisible muzzle keeping her mouth shut."

"_Don't pin all the blame on me!_" Kaitou wrote on the second line of the ruled page. "_Her participation in this was absolutely voluntary. Of her own free will. No coercion from my end at all._"

"Regardless," retorted Kurama, his hand clenching into a fist. "She never backs down from a fight, and you took full advantage of that." He leaned towards his colleague, merciless green eyes finally emerging into view.

"Void this Taboo, Kaitou." The threat in his tone shook Kaitou to his core. "Now."

Kaitou forced a nervous gulp back down, clearing his throat more quietly than he had ever done before. Once again, Minamino had unleashed his dark side right before his very eyes—but now he didn't even seem to care that they were in class. Whatever emotion blazed in those green eyes was strong… fearsome. This game of Taboo with Mayonaka-_kun_ was fast becoming an unfair fight, and Kaitou could very well see whose side Minamino took.

"_I can't,_" Kaitou hurriedly scrawled onto paper. "_Once our contract was forged, the words were practically set in stone. The only way to end this is for one of us to say something._"

Kurama eyed the last word he wrote. "Something?"

"_Anything_," Kaitou jotted down in response. "_Any word whatsoever._"

"So if I get you to speak—"

Kaitou held a hand up before Kurama's face. He shook his head as he bent over his desk and put pen to paper once more. "_I advise against it, Minamino. She wouldn't want you to do that._"

Green eyes narrowed, awaiting explanation.

"_She herself has invested her own efforts into this game,_" continued Kaitou. "_You are all standing within the perimeter of my Territory, yet none of your souls has been taken, correct?_"

The word wizard motioned to everyone else in the classroom, including Kurama himself.

"_I have not ascertained how my Taboo applies to just the two of us. She must be using some form of power limiter on the curse,_" speculated a still silent Kaitou. "_You never told me she had such abilities, Minamino._"

"I…"

A fist still at his side, Kurama rose and turned to face the girl in the denim blue sports cap peacefully doodling in her sketchbook three rows of seats away.

"… didn't know."

* * *

Suddenly, Setsu stopped shading her drawing.

Her left hand still gripping her pencil, she uncurled her right and gazed into her palm. A thin but long scar emerged from beneath its crisscrossing lines, stale blood slowly seeping out of the cut.

_I'm really getting weaker by the day, huh?_ She silently winced to herself. _Can't even maintain two Time Seals without_ this _coming back to haunt me._

The reclusive student, now quieter than ever before, stared at the only other human in the room enveloped in the same spiritual barrier as she was. Two separate taut, threadlike force fields visible only to her tightly wrapped around both Kaitou's and her bodies alone, sealing them off from the rest of the Human World.

_Well, at least they're working._

She had preset both _Fuuin_ to fast-forward one second into the future—every phenomenon, natural or otherwise, that would occur to Kaitou and herself would strike them exactly one second, zero milliseconds, zero microseconds, zero nanoseconds, zero picoseconds, zero femtoseconds, and zero attoseconds before it would anyone else. She had cocooned them in her undetectable time bubble the very moment Kaitou had summoned his spellbinding power, ensuring that only the two of them would befall the curse of his Taboo—given that their reality transpired one second earlier than everyone else's, the curse would only work on someone _also_ moving in a universe one exact second faster than the time currently ticking in all four worlds. In short, that someone must also be enclosed in his or her own time-spliced subspace. Since such a feat was impossible for any common mortal, Setsu felt relieved that her plan would succeed.

Light blue eyes returned to her now slightly trembling right hand. The ghastly slash on her palm was growing longer. More painful.

She curled her fingers into a loose fist, a sharp, stabbing sting shooting through her veins.

_I mustn't let him see._

* * *

"To your seats, guys!" yelled one advanced English student bursting into their classroom door. "Lerner's coming!"

As the rest of their class scrambled to their chairs of choice, Kurama picked up his notepaper from Kaitou's desk. "Take this as fair warning, Kaitou. I was once a thief. You steal her soul…"

Cold sweat dribbled down a freckled face and all the way off the chin. Crimson forelocks hid green eyes once more.

"… and I shall find a way to take your own."

* * *

Deep in the heart of the Meiou _Daigaku_ Gymnasium, one particular locker in the girls' shower room led to The Official Secret Lair And Headquarters Of The Minamino Shuuichi Forever And Ever And Ever Fan Club, where at that very moment, an emergency meeting was in session.

One dark-haired sophomore suddenly stood erect and saluted to the force. "Number Three Hundred Eighty-Six! Present!" The naturally graceful girl held the frills of her skirt and curtsied before The Official Minamino Shuuichi Shrine, Version Eighteen Point Five.

Her brows knitted, Matsudaira Akiho sent her underclassman back to her seat. "Sit down, Three Hundred Eighty-Six."

"Ma'am, yes, Ma'am!"

Akiho eyed the second-year student warily. The pledge with the perfect hourglass figure was a year younger than she was, yet had already grown taller than her—even when she stood on her presidential platform. Hmph. She did not like that one at all.

But it didn't matter that much. The other girl's face paled in comparison to her own, anyway. After all, she _was_ unanimously voted the most beautiful _and_ most photogenic student in all of Meiou _Daigaku_. Only she could afford to walk the campus halls without a smidge of makeup on and still look drop-dead gorgeous.

As the glamorous president of the girls' fan club roll called for attendance, every member she dictated one by one came forward and paid their most loving respects to the lifelike marble sculpture of an eighteen-year-old Minamino Shuuichi in Meiou High School uniform, all of them awaiting the completion of the statuette of the nineteen-year-old one in the uniform he now wears to college. With each new meeting, the fangirls come up with new and exciting ways to pay homage to their Minamino shrine—some bring sets of clothing for the life-size statue to wear; others weave together necklaces and flowery leis and garlands to either hang them around its neck or crown them upon its head; still others even take the time and effort to style its hair, going so far as to ponytail, braid, and sometimes spike it upwards Mohawk style. How they manage to change the hairstyle of a bust carved from solid marble remains an exclusive, members-only secret to this day.

However, since they were currently conducting an emergency meeting, they were pressed for time, so Akiho had restricted their acts of worship to mere obeisance. The more compliant of the fangirls bowed before the Minamino effigy as elegantly and prettily as they possibly could, whereas the more defiant members also blew flying kisses towards their beloved _bishounen_.

"That's _it_!" snapped Akiho, having had enough of the extra flirtations wasting their precious time. "No Holy Love Poetry reading for all of you today!"

Groans filled the fan clubroom. Not again. They took immense pleasure from writing down their shyest, wildest, most intimate Minamino Shuuichi-centered fantasies in their club's longtime Holy Love Poetry Book—it was their outlet for release. In its hallowed pages safely dwell the most shocking, most tragic, most romantic free verse and rhyme that each of them would never dare confess to him in person. Depriving them of their right to their bible even for just one day alarmed them. What if their inspiration today will have died out by tomorrow? Their epic love poetry shall never be immortalized on paper and therefore be lost forever! The budding poets and authors moaned to their strict authoritarian leader, but their pleas went unheeded.

After what seemed an eternity of anguish, Akiho finally read the last name on her members list.

"Your attendance record disappoints me," grunted the most superior senior in the secret ceremonial chamber. A most displeased Akiho motioned to the empty seats before her eyes. "This is the year all of us had been waiting for—the return of our beloved Shuu-_chan_! Yet just how many—or should I say, how _few_—of us are here to bear witness to this glorious event?"

As the fangirls in the lair murmured among themselves, Akiho pounded her fist on her podium. "SILENCE! This is unforgivable! I shall not allow this—this—this—!"

Standing beside her but not on her presidential pedestal, the demure Sanae lightly dabbed on Akiho's temples with a handkerchief. "Please go easy on them, Aki-_chan_. The ones who deserve the harsh words are the ones who are not here. Not these girls."

The other members of the fan club nodded in deferential agreement. Akiho let out a low growl. "As always, your vice president has come to your defense. But let this be a warning—to one and to all who plan on skipping any of our meetings in the future. Failure to attend is tantamount to failure to love Minamino Shuuichi!"

Loud gasps erupted and echoed against the walls—against the countless wallpaper posters and picture collages all containing a certain little redheaded boy who over the years had become a tall, strapping gentleman.

"No way!"

"Unheard of!"

"Never!"

A smug smile twisted Akiho's brightly glossed lips. "Save your declarations of love and loyalty for another day, ladies. I now call our meeting to order!"

Suddenly, all members of the fan club bolted up from their seats, cried "WE LOVE MINAMINO SHUUICHI-_SAMA_!" in perfect unison, and sat back down.

"You there! With the braces!" With a spangling fingernail, Akiho pointed to a new recruit at the far back. "Your timing is off! Practice with the others on your own time! As for the rest of you—you all sounded like mourners at a funeral! Say it like you mean it—"

"Aki-_chan_, that was as heartfelt as they could get, considering how few they are," commented the soft-spoken Sanae, still standing by Akiho's side.

"Sanae, I am only after their improvement," muttered a defensive Akiho between gritted teeth. Realizing that debating with her best friend would only consume more of her precious time than necessary, she turned back to her audience. "Let us move on. Agenda Number One: Eliminating The Competition! Secretary! What do you have for us this time?"

A bespectacled senior sitting in the front row stood up, leafing through the pages attached to a clipboard. "_Kaichou_, I have here one Mayonaka Setsuki, age seventeen, graduate of Meiou High just this year. Pursuing a degree in Fine Arts. A classmate of Minamino-_sama_'s in just one class, advanced English—"

"And it's his _only_ class for this semester," hissed Akiho. "Very well. Continue."

"Estimated height: Five feet and four to five inches. Estimated weight: Forty-five to fifty kilograms. Hair: Short and brown, mousy in shade. Eyes: Light blue. Complexion: Unremarkable, save for several moles on face and neck. Wears no jewelry, cosmetic product, nail polish, or hair and body accessories whatsoever. Often deviates from mandatory school uniform by wearing additional cap, jacket, or jeans. Today alone, she is wearing an additional cap, as well as a pair of sweatpants under her skirt."

"Tomboyish," Akiho drummed her manicured fingernails against the wooden pulpit before her. "When I first saw her, I thought she was a guy. Shuu-_chan_ wouldn't see anything in her for sure!"

"Overall Potential Threat Rating: Sixty-Three Percent."

"_NANIIIIIIIIIII_?" For the first time in their many years as club mates, Akiho and her subordinates chorused in perfect harmony. "BUT—BUT—BUT—!" stammered the flabbergasted chief commanding club officer. "Only that damn Kitajima from junior high got _that_ high a score! And _she_'s the closest any girl has ever been to him!"

All eyes on her, the club secretary anxiously hugged her clipboard close to her chest, a bead of sweat forming on her brow. "Yes, her probability rate astounded me as well. Careful observation shows that she and Minamino-_sama_ already know each other from outside campus—"

"Evidence!" Akiho pounded her fists on her pulpit. "We need evidence!"

"Permission to speak, Ma'am!"

From out of the blue, two other members seated in the second row stood up and saluted to Akiho and Sanae.

Akiho nodded. "Permission granted."

"We saw them together with our own eyes, Ma'am! Five months ago! At a bookstore!" piped up the first of the honorary officials of the fan club.

The second of the honorary officials spoke up as well. "Yeah! She called us 'immature _sempai_' and taunted us for always saying 'we'!"

"Well," Akiho and a silently sweat-dropping Sanae exchanged meaningful glances. "She was on to something there."

"I just realized something!" The club treasurer sitting next to the secretary with the clipboard snapped her fingers. "She just graduated from high school, right?"

"What's your point?" spat Akiho, taking the treasurer's sudden speaking out of turn as an offense to her authority. She planted her hands on her hips.

"Could it be that Minamino-_sama_…" The curious treasurer started slowly. "… _waited_ for little Mayonaka-_chan_ to graduate before entering college himself?"

A blast of loud gasps exploded in the clubroom.

"Yes, I see what you mean." Despite her rapidly growing discomfort with the idea, Sanae still smiled sweetly on the surface. "Could _she_ have been why he took two years off school? Did he want to be a freshman _with her_?"

"STOP IT."

Akiho's perfect auburn curls veiled her perfect azure eyes from view.

"JUST. STOP IT."

All eyes in the room welled up with tears.

Without warning, an uncharacteristically graceless Akiho snatched the hanky in Sanae's hand and, gradually regaining her composure, very lightly dabbed it on the corners of her eyes. Silencing her own sniffles, the club president flung the cloth back to her best friend as though it were just some disgusting rag that needed to be thrown out, and clapped her hands once—twice—thrice, calling for everyone's attention.

"NO, DAMMIT! I will NOT have anyone in this club entertain such vile, dirty thoughts again! Do I make myself clear?"

The sorrowfully weeping fangirls nodded in passive agreement between soft sniffs and not-so-soft blows of noses. A still serenely smiling Sanae bowed her head in apology. "Crystal."

"Now, we have yet to give her a 'proper' welcome. The one she deserves."

Her hands fisting the lacy tablecloth draped over her presidential pulpit, Akiho looked up in thought, picturing the face of a certain Meiou _Daigaku_ freshman somewhere above their lair. The paint on their ceiling was chipping.

"This hellhole needs repainting at the soonest possible time," she muttered under her breath.

Suddenly, a sinister scheme hatched in her mind. She turned back to her disciples with renewed fire in her eyes. "Despair no more, ladies! I've the perfect plan!" She pounded her fist on her pulpit one more time, more forcefully than ever before.

"Commence Offensive Maneuver Number Forty-Two Dash Nine!"

* * *

The usual bun.

It came so naturally to her that her fingers had already swept it all up into the usual bun without her even noticing. But that was the only way she wore her hair in their junior high days. This time, she wanted to experiment, to try something new.

After tucking several loose brown strands in place, Kitajima Maya put down her brush on her dresser, plucked out the bright pink hairclip from in between her lips and pinned it close to her scalp, high above her ear. She took hold of her hairbrush again and ran its fine-toothed combs from the roots to the tips of her shoulder-length hair.

"_Ane_." His arms still crossed before his chest, an impatiently waiting Hagiri Kaname already melted into their living room sofa, splaying his legs farther apart in sheer boredom, his right leg shaking and foot tapping. "You done yet?"

"No, this won't do!" Maya absently mumbled to herself, chocolate eyes still focused on her vanity mirror. She pulled the pink clip out of her hair and slipped a dark blue one in its place. "He might think I'm getting too girly!" The older stepsister of the Hagiri-Kitajima household shot a glance at her rash, hasty stepbrother in their living room. "Just one more minute, Kaname-_chan_!"

"But you said that _forty_ minutes ago," spat a harrumphing Kaname. Only now did he gain some appreciation of Tsuki's lack of concern for her own physical appearance—she had never made him wait _this_ long. Especially never to doll up before a mirror. "Are we still going?"

"Of course!"

Suddenly, Maya finally emerged from her room, twirling right before Kaname's eyes. Her flower-printed skirt billowed by her knees and lightly bounced with her every step. "So," she held up a small, stuffed figurine-like object hanging by an elastic thread. "What do you think?"

Drawing one heavy sigh, Kaname shot one glance at her, rose from the couch, stuffed his hands into the pockets of his windbreaker, and strode to the door. "Not bad. Let's go."

"I didn't mean _me_, you silly!" Maya yanked her bored, indifferent stepbrother by his arm, calling for his undivided attention. "I was asking about _this_!" She waved the miniature toy to his face. "Do you think he'll like it?"

Lavender eyes merely blinked. "What is it?"

"It's a cell phone accessory! I sewed it myself!" She exclaimed proudly. The male figure with long white hair and yellow eyes dangled in front of Kaname's nose. "He could attach it to his phone and carry it wherever he goes! Or he could use it as a keychain! See?"

Smoky lavender eyes met soft brown. Despite all the times that heartless redhead had hurt her and left her behind, his _ane_ still chose to go through so much trouble for that Minamino-_kun_ of hers. It was stupid of her—yet, in a way… sweet. In all their years together, Tsuki had never once even attempted to sew anything for him. But he understood why. She hated sewing because it hated her back—she sucked at it.

"I want to give this to him as a peace offering." Her tone now softer, sadder than before, Maya's gaze fell to the floor. A painful sorrow eclipsed her face. "We were on bad terms the last time we were together."

Kaname opened the front door for them.

"You don't have to do that. Just talk to him."

Maya stashed away the small accessory in her purse and shut the door behind her. The knob was warm. Maybe Kaname-_chan_'s hand was, too.

"Maybe. But I want to anyway."

The two went down the staircase together, her head hung low, him always one step ahead of her. To hell with being a gentleman—at least this way, if she ever slipped, he would break her fall.

"Kaname-_chan_…?" Her voice trailed off.

He said nothing.

"You're a guy, right?"

Kaname stopped in his tracks and whirled to face his older stepsister. He looked down at his denim jeans—right by the crotch area—and blinked. "Should I check?"

A fit of giggles burst from Maya's lips. "You pervert!" Her arms flailed wildly at her side, the carrying strap of her purse nearly falling off her shoulder. "That's not what I meant!"

A smile pulled the corners of his lips. His _ane_'s face was as red as a tomato now. His sense of humor never failed to work on her—she never failed to laugh. Tsuki just called him stupid to his face. Then again, he did it to her, too.

At least making Maya happy was easy.

"What I meant to ask you was how a guy like you…" The blushing stepsister found herself struggling for words. "… How you knew…? I mean… How did you know…?"

They arrived at his two-stroke Yamaha parked at the curb, where he handed her a helmet to wear. She took it in her hands and gazed upon his curved reflection in the shiny, sphere-shaped headgear. Even when the curvature of the helmet disproportionately bloated his face, he still looked cute, and just a little silly.

"… How did you know you were in love with her…?"

Kaname swung a leg over his motorbike and turned on the ignition. Not once did he turn to face her again.

"I couldn't stand to see her sad."

Short, broken raven forelocks hiding lavender eyes, Kaname kick-started his motorcycle. The engine roared and rumbled with every throttle and turn of his wrists.

"_Sou ka_…"

Maya perched onto what remained of the motorcycle seat behind him and rested her helmeted cheek against his back. Her guess was right—he really _was_ warm. And was that the smell of his shampoo, or brake fluid?

"Could he ever…"

She tightened her arms around his torso just as they rode away.

"… feel that way about me…?"

* * *

The frat boy with beer breath and a tipsy hangover tightened his grip on the crowbar and gave it one last powerful jerk, finally prying the school locker open.

A rich peal of laughter escaped Akiho's lips. "Splendid! Good job, my man!"

Still giddy from last night's ping-pong turned beer pong game, now even giddier from the mere sight of the spectacular Matsudaira Akiho standing before his dizzy eyes, the inebriated undergrad poked at his own lips somewhere within a bushy forest of a five o'clock shadow left unshaven for much too long. "I gots the job done, now lay it on me, baby!"

Akiho planted her hands on her hips. "And what the damn hell could you possibly be talking about?"

Even in his drunken stupor, the lovesick Akiho fanboy soon realized that she had just taken advantage of him. For the fifth time that week. "Where's mah kiss? Ya promised!"

As the other members of the Minamino Shuuichi girls' fan club crowded together before the now-open locker and fawned over what few contents they found inside—a notebook, a ream of paper with a corporate letterhead, and three pens—Akiho brushed her longtime admirer off with a most commanding wave of her hand. "That's not part of our agreement! I never promised to give you a kiss right after you open Shuu-_chan_'s locker! I'll kiss you when I feel like it—if I _ever_ feel like it! Now buzz off!" She paid no more heed to the pest still flitting around her and turned to her subordinates. "Status report!"

A sunny-faced senior wearing a beret intentionally tipped to one side carried a large can of textile paint by its handle and held it up for Akiho's inspection and, hopefully, approval. "_Kaichou_! I 'borrowed' this from the Fine Arts building! See here—" She pointed to the side of the tin canister, on which a name was painted with thin, fine brush strokes. "—it has Mayonaka's name on it!"

"It _must_ be hers!" cried the fangirls bubbling behind Akiho, unable to contain their excitement.

"It's just what we need!" Even Akiho's lapis lazuli eyes glittered in immense satisfaction. "Very well done, Number Seventy-Seven! Now, for the finishing touches…"

The members of the girls' fan club huddled even closer to each other in a quick private conference, but Sanae paid more attention to the sick, sinking feeling at the pit of her stomach than to her club's snap elections. "Aki-_chan_," she started slowly. "Isn't this Minamino-_sama_'s locker?"

That unspeakable look on Akiho's face gave Sanae the impression that she herself had just uttered the most atrocious, unforgivable blasphemy in their religious faith. "By the power vested in me by the rest of our fan club, Sanae, if any such sacrilege drops from your lips again, then I will personally strip you of your vice presidency right here and now!"

Frowning for the first time that day—actually, for the first time that semester—Sanae shook her head. Akiho gasped. Never had Sanae shaken her head at anyone and anything in her life. "No, Aki-_chan_. I was just wondering why we're doing this in _his_ locker and not hers. Don't we love Minamino-_sama_?"

Akiho clacked her tongue thrice, deeply disappointed with her best friend. "Don't you get it, Sanae? We're going to make that sick witch look bad in front of Shuu-_chan_ _because_ we love him _that_ much! When our plan works, he'll blame _her_ for it and hate her for sure, so he'll like _us_ a lot better!"

Sanae knew the full mechanics of Offensive Maneuver Forty-Two Dash Nine, yet she was sure of only one thing: she did not like where things were going.

"But if we really cared about Minamino-_sama_, we should never want to hurt him, even at someone else's expense…"

No one cared.

* * *

His legs were stretched out across the loftiest branch of the tree, his back leaning against its trunk, and his arms folded behind his head, serving as his pillow. Hiei was just about to catch a wink of sleep when a fetid _Makai_ pong befouled the _Ningenkai_ air.

"If it isn't our lucky day, boys! Food as far as the eye can see! And we have it all to ourselves!"

Eyebrows hidden beneath a white bandana twitched in irritation. _Youkai_ had once again penetrated the Human World. Just where were the troops of the _Makai_ patrol when the fugitives were on the loose?

"Hmph." Hiei shifted his position to make himself more comfortable, not even peeping one eye out for any suspicious demonic goings-on fast approaching his neighborhood. Whatever their business was in this world was none of his. He wanted no part in any of it.

"Well, well, well!" sneered a big, brusque beast pointing straight at him. "Look who we have here! One of our own!"

The putrid stench wafted closer and closer, polluting the _jaganshi_'s breathing space to the point of criminal offense. He should have known that they would never leave him in peace.

"But it took us so long to get here!" whined a hairy germ with tentacles. "I wanna have my fill of as much of these _ningen_ as I can!"

"Yeah!" exclaimed a minotaur with eight eyes. "I don't wanna share these tasty _ningen_ with that pipsqueak! Let's get 'im!"

All their battle cries got on Hiei's nerves. He had heard enough.

Suddenly, the mythical monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man found himself without his body. Black minotaur blood trickled down Hiei's sword. "If _that_'s your sorry excuse for wanting to kill me, then I'll be blunt. _I_ have no excuse for wanting to kill _you_. I just _want_ to."

Just as Hiei turned his back on the pack, a bearded goliath thrice his size with an eyepatch and a pegged leg swashed a cutlass at him and swiftly chopped him in half.

Or so the pirate thought.

His one good eye celebrated at the sight of the puny demon's black cloak ripped into two. His bluish lips exploded into a good, hearty laugh.

But he wasn't laughing for long.

He heard that cocksure grunt behind him, yet never felt that certain weight as light as a feather perching upon his back.

"Didn't anyone teach you how insulting it is to be attacked from the back?"

"Sorry." A smirk of perverse pleasure coiled the one-eyed demon's bluish lips. He may not have killed the scrawny piece of shit just yet, but at least he had managed to attack his pride as a fighter. "Never had any teachers."

"You should be taught a lesson."

A now-shirtless Hiei plunged his sword into rotting demon flesh.

"And pain is the best teacher of all."

Hiei zipped away from his fallen foe just as the impaled sailor walked the plank. Still high up in the air, he whipped aside to dodge a long, web-footed leg being swung at his torso.

"I can't help but kick ya, pal!" cried the long-limbed demon bird through a grayish bill. "My legs are just so long!"

"Then let me shorten them for you."

With one blinding white flash of his swinging blade, Hiei made good on his threat and skewered the demon ostrich alive. The now short-legged bird plummeted to the ground with one deafening, dead squawk, its chopped legs landing too far for it to reach without actually using them just to get to them.

The rest of the demons took turns bearing witness to the untimely deaths of their fellow escaped convicts and charging at their one single enemy all at once. A self-confident smirk lit Hiei's face. As many as they were, the numbers weren't really stacked against his favor. This wasn't even half as hard as his regular self-training workout. The morning one.

So he fought for his life, as he always did. He would run of opponents soon, anyway.

But more just kept on coming.

* * *

The handle of his briefcase in one hand and a used notepad in the other, Kurama strode across the institute hall, heading towards his locker.

"_The only way to end this is for one of us to say something._" Green eyes read and reread loopy, near-illegible handwriting. "_Any word whatsoever._"

_Under those conditions, their game could go on forever…!_ Green eyes narrowed. _What provoked them to this? Was he just that interested in seeing the hue of her soul for himself?_

"_You never told me she had such abilities, Minamino._"

Their gaze fell.

_Then again, so am I._

* * *

The trap was set.

A red ripple walked past an intersecting corridor. Akiho and the rest of the Minamino Shuuichi girls' fan club ducked behind the wall, softly snickering to themselves as the object of their individual and collective affections drew closer and closer to the little "surprise" they had in store for him.

On the other end of the long hallway, Setsu stuffed her padlock key into the side pocket of her school skirt. While ransacking the catacombs of clutter in her locker for the round-tipped sable brush she was to use for her next class, she found a slip of paper jammed between one of the slits high up her locker door.

_Hn?_ Bloodstained right fingers twitched in curiosity. From all her past experience with passing and receiving notes, she could tell that this one came from someone who would much rather remain unnamed.

"_Hi. You probably don't know me, and you don't have to like me, either. But please save Minamino_-sama _from what awaits him in his locker. He'll take your word for it better than he would mine. Thank you."_

"_Minamino_-sama_"…_ She repeated in her mind. _One of his rabid fangirls._

She had not even closed her eyes when a vivid image already flashed before them: several—no, several dozens of—dainty manicured hands in gaudy bangles and bracelets setting up an open-lidded can of oil-based semi-gloss paint to tip over and empty its contents onto the unfortunate locker opener standing right beneath it. A bloodied right hand crushed the anonymous note with a crisp crunch. _The paint that I reserved for T-shirt printing class—they stole it from the storeroom!_

She froze, a gasp caught in her throat. Textile paint contained a dangerously high level of arsenic, and was therefore strongly unadvisable for contact on skin. It didn't take a van Gogh or a Hokusai in the making to know better than to touch this primer with one's bare hands—or worse, slosh it all over someone else's face. _Have they completely lost it? The arsenic in that paint is potent enough to serve as herbicide…_

Herbicide!

Blue eyes homed in on and locked onto a ripple of red an entire sea of students away. If opening his locker meant getting arsenic-laced paint poured onto his head, the stash of plants in his hair would…!

Wasting no time whatsoever, Setsu tossed the crumpled piece of paper into the compost heap that was her locker and slammed its door shut behind her, turning her heels and breaking into a mad dash towards another advanced English student about to access his own locker at the far end of the hall.

_For the love of sanity,_ sempai_, don't open your locker!_

* * *

"_She herself has invested her own efforts into this game,_" continued Kaitou in the notepad in his hand.

_He's right._ Kurama set his briefcase onto the tiled floor and slowly turned his combination lock to the right. _She would not want me to interfere._

"_She must be using some form of power limiter on the curse._"

_What could it be?_ He turned the dial to the left this time. _And why can't I sense her_ ki_?_

* * *

_What a_ fine _time to be Tabooed._ She shook her head to herself in sarcastic exasperation. _But I_ have _to get through to him!_

Black school shoes stamping all over white tiled floor, Setsu weaved her way between the uniformed bodies standing in her path, her options racing just as quickly in her mind.

_Should I cast a Standstill on him?_ She recalled the fact that he was on the verge of falling victim to a prank. _Iie. Those fangirl pranksters of his must be watching his every move. So if he's suddenly_ unable _to move, they'll suspect…!_

Gawky, graceless legs in both a skirt and sweatpants tore past a billowing wave of hair and narrowly dodged a burly shoulder.

_What if I Standstill everyone here?_ Blue eyes darted towards the face that everyone in the campus corridor kept at least one close eye on—the face of the nearby wall clock. Most of them were scheduled to be in their respective classrooms in less than five minutes. _But they're all conscious of the time!_

She decided against resorting to her trusty technique for fear that everyone keeping watch of the time might notice that they had been frozen in suspended animation as it ticked away. Since she became human, her control of the _Teishi_ had changed. Consciousnesses and movements were all she could arrest now—she could no longer twist the fabric of time itself.

He was just about done entering the combination in his lock now. Nothing and no one was stopping him.

_I_ have _to let him know! Or tell_ someone_! But how else do I do that other than—?_

Her lips parted. She stopped herself one last time.

_So the Taboo forbids "all words in its universe"… but since the Taboo is Kaitou_-sempai_'s own creation, that makes it_ his _universe—so if he calls him by Minamino Shuuichi, will the Taboo curse me if I call him…?_

The bolt of his lock came undone. She would just have to see for herself.

_Oh, what the heck!_

"_KURAMA!_"

* * *

They were taking their brawl downtown.

His blade was grinding against a large brown club when Hiei spotted it from the corner of his eye: a high-rise structure that stood out from all the others lining the city. A metal monster confronted the pillar head-on, most likely also in a duel with it. A big black ball dangling from the raging, roaring machine clobbered the tower to death, but it didn't fight back.

Even without knowing what _ningen_ called the act or why they did it, Hiei could tell that the building was being demolished. He decided to take his own battle to the demolition site.

A man in a sweaty sweatshirt and a hard hat gasped at the sight of an entire swarm of large humanoid insects—who, unbeknownst to him, were demons—flying straight towards him. With one thunderous, unintelligible scream, the horrified human broke into a mad dash and never looked back, without leaving so much as a warning for the rest of his coworkers still in the scene.

Hiei was busy shaking off four winged creatures attacking him from all directions when a demon with pincers for lips climbed onto the tower-wrecking machine, ambushed its operator from behind, and used its facial claw to snap the terrified driver's neck. Unable to scream for help (forever), the man tumbled off his machine and broke the rest of his bones in his splat landing. A depraved grin of amusement misshaping his lip-pincers, the crustacean-like demon worked the levers of the wrecker and destroyed every last brick and block in sight, playing around with its wrecking ball as though it were merely a harmless toy.

"WEEEEE~!" exclaimed the demon behind the demolition derby of sorts. "THIS IS _FUN_!"

He soon discovered that yanking one of the levers always slung the ball _very_ close to where Hiei was staving off his comrades. "TAKE _THAT_, SHRIMP!"

But even as distracted as he already was with everyone else coming at him from close range, Hiei still managed to dodge the wrecking ball every time.

"DAMMIT, SHRIMP! STAY _STILL_!"

He wasn't the only one who noticed that Hiei's strength lay in his super-demon speed.

* * *

"_KURAMA!_"

That voice…! Louder than ever before! It rattled his mind!

_Mayonaka_-san_!_

He didn't think he'd hear it again, much less so soon. Especially because she and Kaitou were—!

A gasp caught in Kurama's throat.

* * *

Suddenly, blood red faded from his scalp and paled into gleaming silver. Straight, whitewashed locks grew over his long spikes of crimson.

A loud gasp nearly escaped Setsu's lips, but she bit her lower lip in the nick of time.

_Nani?_ Light blue eyes widened in alarm. _Why did he turn into—?_

Another new realization seized her attention.

_Oh, no—I did it again!_

The human gave the demon a quick once-over. His school uniform remained intact, but she could not say the same for his fingernails. _But it wasn't painful this time. He didn't feel it at all._

She accepted it with neither resistance nor regret—the reality that her body and soul were to part ways any moment now. But not just yet.

_I can't let anyone else here see him like this!_

Now she had to hide his secret identity from the world—_and_ still stop him from opening his locker!

She ran right into his back, intending to both interrupt his movements and conceal his now-silver hair with her own body. But the crown of his head was still visible to all!

_Please don't take my soul until he's…!_

She yanked her cap off her own head and dumped it onto his.

* * *

He froze in his tracks the very moment she crashed into his back.

_The Taboo!_

Even before he could whirl around to face her, a denim blue sports cap crowned his head.

* * *

_Don't turn around,_ onegai. _Don't look into my eyes. I won't let you see in them what happened to yours._

She still had to find a way to hide the long, lustrous hair flowing down his back.

_This you… It has been so long…_

Without another word, she buried her face in his hair.

* * *

_Your first time to call me…!_

Ribbons of breath curled between his shoulder blades. Against the small of his back, he felt her heart pounding to the beat of his own.

_Doomed to be your last!_

* * *

_Uttering your name…_

She had no intention of letting him see the canine talons his hands had become.

_I won't make this mistake again._

Calloused fingers slid down his sleeves and weaved between his own.

* * *

Her hands swallowed his and refused to let go.

_Holding on to me…_

Kurama hung his head low, the brim of her cap hiding his eyes from view.

… _will not save your soul._

He would not see her face when she turns to stone.

* * *

_I've missed you._

She would not see his face when she turns to stone.

_Kurama._

* * *

"YOU'RE GOING _DOWN_, SHRIM—!"

The ground floor of the high-rise tower collapsed under the weight of the second to twenty-ninth floors. The crash, crumble, and crush of solid brick, block, and metal bar resounded in Hiei's ears as he pulled his sword out from in between the pincers of that pesky demon that had been controlling the wrecking ball the whole time. Not even the metal scaffolding that served as the foundations of the building were spared. Too bad. He could have slept on one of those when no _ningen_ was looking.

He closed his eyes just as a sudden breeze blew dusty debris onto his face.

It was over.

He slotted his sword back into its sheath, running its bloodstained blade through his thumb until the hilt of the sword kissed the holster of the sheath. Stowing his trusty weapon behind him again, Hiei paused for a moment and took in the feel of the wickerwork of the scabbard strapped to his back. This long, wooden weight on his back… his security blanket of sorts. He went nowhere without it.

Hiei raised a fisted right arm to level with his eyes. Beneath an open rip in his already torn bandages lay a long bloody gash on his arm.

A frown crossing his face, he brought the slit to his lips and licked his own blood off his flesh wound.

"Enjoying the taste of your own blood so much? Want more?"

Suddenly, a sharp air sliced Hiei's blindfold in half. The white bandana split right in the middle before rippling off his forehead forever.

His _Jagan_ now exposed to all of _Ningenkai_, the rest of Hiei's eyes darted all around him, stalking for the source of the strange, unfamiliar voice.

"_That_ could be arranged."

Hiei was about to grit his teeth when he realized that he could not move at all.

* * *

Kurama gritted his teeth upon realizing that she was not moving at all.

Their eyes were closed, her forehead against his back, her hands clenching his. Everything was black. Despite the footsteps and the voices flooding his ears, as far as he was concerned, no one else was in that hallway. No one else mattered. No one else…

There was no one else.

He was alone.

What was this sinking, murky, hollow feeling? Aloneness? Emptiness? Was he capable of espousing such… such _human_ sentiments?

Was it helplessness? Powerlessness? That he was helpless—powerless—to stop Kaitou and Mayonaka-_san_ from entering into the most foolish Taboo contract they could have possibly forged in all their existence? That he remained helpless—powerless—until the very end, and failed to stop her soul from ripping off her body even when she was standing right under his very nose?

Did he truly desire to be of genuine _help_ to her? Or did he only see it as an opportunity to exercise his _power_?

Power over what? Over whom? Over Kaitou—whom he had already defeated in this same game once before? Over Mayonaka-_san_—who after all this time had never even once relented to him, who refused to surrender her secrets to him despite all open chance and temptation, who time and time again had proven him and his suspicions of her all wrong, who…

Who… whose loss in a mere game—whose loss of soul—provoked all these questions now plaguing his mind?

Could he have saved her from losing her soul? Could he have done something about the situation?

Did he really _want_ to do something about it?

What was it?

Did he want to save her?

Why?

Did he want to save _himself_ from feeling powerless? Was he avoiding this very moment—these very feelings—all these unadulterated thoughts of contempt and confession and condemnation of himself?

What was he condemning himself for? For taking her loss as a blow to his pride?

_Was_ it a blow to his pride that she had lost her soul? Was it an even bigger blow to his pride that she had lost her soul while standing right behind him?

But _she_ had lost her soul. _He_ did not lose his. Yet…

Why did he feel like he lost something as well? Just what was taken from him?

Could this… be that powerful human sense of loss?

Was he grieving for her loss?

Was he grieving for her?

Was he grieving for himself—for his aloneness, his emptiness, his helplessness, his powerlessness, his indecision, his failure to give a specific name to whatever this emotion is?

At this point, he was certain of only one feeling: that he felt her forehead against his back and her hands clenching his. Nothing else was in that hallway. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else…

There was nothing else.

* * *

Hiei winced to himself, but even his facial muscles were paralyzed. Why—can't—he—_move_?

Suddenly, a male demon with long, glossy bottle green hair and tar black eyes emerged before him, his arms crossed before his chest as he laughed to—and at—the _jaganshi_'s frozen face.

"Your name befits you, Hiei. You truly are a flying shadow."

With a cocky smirk, the swordsman's new enemy seized him by his white starburst forelocks, yanking the three-eyed face closer to his own and examining one of them in particular: the _Jagan_.

"But you shall never be a _jaganshi_—master to that eye not your own."

How _dare_ this stranger judge him at first glance! If he could only move, Hiei would have already thrown a dozen death glares towards the pale-skinned demon and shoved his sword down the latter's throat—and that was just for warm-up!

Suddenly, a faint memory haunted him.

"_Keep an eye on that_ jagan. _You never know who or what could want it for itself._"

That _ningen_—! She had forewarned him of this!

The longhaired demon let go of him, tossing him aside with an airy sigh. Hiei sensed two… three… seven… thirty… other large, imposing presences looming behind his back, threatening to storm right at him while he remained immobilized, merely waiting for the signal of their leader.

"All you have is your speed. Now that I've taken it away from you, you have nothing else."

Damn this demon! Oh, how every fiber in Hiei's body ached to take _everything_ away from this arrogant asshole, part by bloody body part! He'd start with his eyes!

"With you under physical paralysis, Hiei…"

The tall, slender demon spat right at Hiei's cheek.

"… You bore me."

Hiei had had enough.

A smoldering rage roiling his blood and jolting his nerves, his fingers twitched on their own. Hiei wasted no time. With a powerful battle cry, he drew out the sword strapped to his back and hacked that disgusting demon before him into oblivion.

But the bastard was quick on his feet.

Just as fast as Hiei had overcome his palsy had the demon shirked his attack, his accomplices closing in on Hiei, each wielding a blade, shaft, or whip weapon all his own.

Hiei kicked one of his attackers away right when he slashed another from the right shoulder to the left hip. A third one came in on the _jaganshi_ from behind, lashing at him an electrically supercharged metal chain loudly crackling from all its power. Hiei sped away from the electrocuting cable in time for its noose to ensnare two of his other opponents and fry them alive.

But everywhere Hiei flitted to, his enemies came closer and closer to trapping him. As he eliminated one—two—three already standing in his way, a fourth one sealed off his only exit. Even as he himself attacked, he had to be on the defensive at the same time by rapidly distancing himself from his most dangerously close-range challenger. He dodged, and ducked, and darted away, zooming left and right more and more. They just would not let him stop. This fell into a strategic pattern.

He had found the flaw in their plan—he needed to _break_ that pattern!

So he zigzagged out of his enemies' clutches, turning on his heels every last time he had to, evading them as he secretly channeled fire from the volcanic depths of _Ningenkai_ to his arms. He had been fighting with his blade long enough. Time to change tactic.

* * *

_What was she…_

As long as nothing shook the earth beneath their feet, they remained standing in that long, lonely hall, surrounded by students in all directions yet alone in their silence.

Their eyes remained closed, her forehead against his back, her hands clenching his. Everything remained black. Despite the footsteps and the voices flooding his ears, as far as he was concerned, no one else was in that hallway. No one else mattered. No one else…

There was simply no one else.

He was alone. And his mind drifted farthest when he was left on his own.

Part of Kurama wanted to see her soul. He was sure about that. Shamelessly sure. Seeing her soul for himself would lead him one step closer to identifying just what or who she truly was. It could reveal and explain many things, many obvious things, and then some not so obvious. As long as he remained uninformed of something—or, in Setsu's case, someone—he had set his mind to knowing about, he remained distrustful of it—of her. He took advantage of any opportunity to disassemble the puzzle—to take it apart piece by piece—in order for him to best put it back together again.

But when _this_ puzzle broke into two…

Another part of him wanted to see her soul _back in her body_.

Because even in her final hour, she had left him a mystery to solve. For starters, he had yet to figure out why she had finally called him Kurama—just when she was forbidden from human speech.

Because…

Because…

Because she needed to have both body and soul for him to confront and interrogate her in the future.

Because…

No.

There was no more to it than that.

… _supposed to tell me…?_

* * *

"_JAOU ENSATSU!_"

A muscled, tattooed arm summoned the blue-white flames to its fingertips as yet another gang of assailants stampeded towards it all at once. Hiei thrust his flaming fist at them.

"_RENGOKUSHO!_"

As the demons trapped right in the path of the swirling blue blaze sizzled in their own skins, one ambushed the fire demon from his side. Hiei turned his scorching flames onto him just as he rammed a barbed shaft through the _jaganshi_'s stomach. The shirtless Hiei eluded the shank in time for his back to smash smack into an iron wall.

The wall had never been there before. It had just materialized from out of nowhere. And even before he could escape, molten metal rings suddenly surfaced from within the iron and snapped shut, instantly shackling his wrists and ankles.

"Tch!" Hiei grunted to himself.

At that very moment, the leader of the demons blurred back into his focus, just to mock him once again.

"I gave you a fighting chance, Hiei—I returned your freedom of movement to you. Yet in the end, you still fell short of my expectations. You bore me now more than ever! I don't even have time to waste on you!"

Hiei jerked his flaming wrist—then the other—away from the cuffs with all his strength, but the metallic manacles simply would not budge. Pushing his back as far away from the wall as he could, even while caught in the very dangerous bind that he was, Hiei still smirked at his foolishly overconfident rival.

"Hmph. Is _that_ why you refuse to fight me yourself? I thought you just didn't have the _guts_."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Baring his milky white fangs for Hiei to see, the slender demon grabbed hold of Hiei's chin, the talons of his right hand digging into the _jaganshi_'s face. "You shall pay for your words, Hiei. You shall pay for them with your extra eye!"

Holding the silently yet hostilely resisting Hiei as still as he could with his right, the fingers of his left hand were already inching closer and closer and closer and closer to the _Jagan_ when suddenly, a long, spiky rope as green as the freshest foliage of _Ningenkai_ lassoed the fanged demon by his neck.

"_NANI_?" exclaimed the now-leashed demon, clawing at the harness gripping his neck, to no avail.

The thorns of the Rose Whip jabbed deeper into lean flesh, tying a secure slipknot by the green-haired demon's collar, as its tether choked the demon more and more. A deceivingly gentle hand gave the whip one strong, powerful pull.

A head of long, glorious green hair lopped off its body just as the nails on Hiei's cheek released him for good.

"Kurama!"

* * *

A drop of blood dripped from the palm of her right hand and splashed onto a cold white floor tile.

_I…_

An ear tangled beneath cluttered brown hair heard the tiny trickling sound.

_My soul…_

Her eyelids fluttered open. Twinkling blue eyes blinked back to life.

_It didn't go… But why…?_

* * *

That deceivingly gentle wrist cracked the Rose Whip one more time, and the iron wall against Hiei's back crumbled to wrack and ruin.

Hiei flickered away from the blast and reemerged behind Kurama.

Green eyes shot a sidelong glance at the fleeting shadow. "You should be more mindful of where you hold your battles, Hiei. I could hear you all the way from my school."

"Hmph." A pleased—almost grateful—smirk twisted the _jaganshi_'s lips. "Admit it, Kurama. You just wanted in on the action."

Kurama closed his eyes awhile, a chuckle escaping his own lips. "True."

Now poised to fight back to back, the partners in crime eyed the battalions circling them in and cornering them to each other. One with a sword and the other with a whip in fighting hand, the two demon fighters divided the mob between themselves with neither debate nor mere dialogue at all.

* * *

"_KURAMA!_"

Her voice echoed in his ears one last time.

"_Don't open your locker!_"

His eyelids fluttered open.

"_Get away from here!_"

_I—I can still hear her!_ Under the brim of her denim blue sports cap, his now golden eyes widened. _She's talking through telepathy!_

"_Let's both get out of here, now!_"

Suddenly, Youko Kurama felt the tail of his hair being stuffed into the cap atop his head quickly, clumsily. The next thing he knew, his hands were being pulled away from his arms, and his arms were stretching out in front of him—towards her. Setsu was no longer behind him. She was now dragging him with her, body and soul intact!

_Her soul! It didn't separate from her body because only_ I _heard her call me in my mind…!_

Demon fox legs in human form sprinted on their own, striving to catch up with the warm, flushed living body—and soul—running for her life right before his eyes.

_Mayonaka_-san_! You're—!_

"_I know…!_"

Kurama gasped. _And you can hear me…!_

"_So you're a telepath._" Without turning to face him, Setsu smiled to herself and scrambled as fast and as far as her legs would take her, leading him by the right hand. Neither let go. "_How convenient._"

_But if this line of communication was open to us all along, then we—_

"Iie. _We can't keep on doing this. Not for very long._"

Golden eyes narrowed. _Why?_

"_It's not safe._"

Golden eyes widened. _What?_

"_For both of us._"

* * *

Spitting tongues of fire flickered in all their eyes, their dark eyeliners and mascaras melting all the way down their cheeks. A venomous cocktail of shock, envy, horror, and rage burned their throats. Akiho and the other Minamino Shuuichi fangirls took turns telling each other the obvious, still not believing their own eyes for themselves.

"DAMMIT!" began Akiho. "Offensive Maneuver Forty-Two Dash Nine failed us!"

"It didn't work!"

"He didn't open it!"

Miyabi planted her shaking fists on her hips. "That loser! She _stopped_ him!"

"She _touched_ him!"

"WHO DOES THAT BITCH THINK SHE IS?"

"THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!"

"Ladies!" Akiho raised a most commanding hand. "Commence Offensive Maneuver Twenty-Five!"

Upon her signal, the members of The Minamino Shuuichi Forever And Ever And Ever Fan Club hurled their purses, handbags, textbooks, and every other makeshift projectile within their immediate reach towards an escaping Youko Kurama and Setsu.

* * *

_Not safe…?_ Kurama repeated after her. _But why…?_

A black laptop case—with a laptop inside—flew right at Setsu's face.

"Mayonaka-_san_!" cried an alarmed Kurama through both his mouth and mind.

Setsu heard him twice. Despite his changed appearance, he still had his human voice. All the later he would realize his metamorphosis. Good. "_Now's not the time!_"

Suddenly, the laptop bag smacked against a bubble mere millimeters away from Setsu's skin, its reflective bluish colorlessness most resembling fresh _Ningenkai_ water invisible to all but the two of them. As her moving target sped away unscathed, the fangirl who had sacrificed her laptop for the sake of her cause gasped in between spangling fingernails. "How did _that_ happen?"

A mobile flip phone, four bottles of nail polish, a bottle of nail polish remover, and a compact mirror—all accurately aimed and thrown in her direction in rapid succession—also failed to come into contact with any part of Setsu's person.

_Kaitou! This is his defense shield!_ The explanation behind the mysterious protective force field dawned on Kurama. _As long as we stay in his Territory, we will never be subjected to any form of violence!_

"_I appreciate his pacifism._" He heard Setsu think straight from her own mind. "_It's protecting both me and—_"

At that moment, the pointed tips of an uncapped fountain pen, a pair of scissors, and a paper cutter blade shot straight towards Kurama's back.

"—_uh, maybe not you…!_"

Her right hand still holding on to his, Setsu stopped in her tracks and caught the pen—the scissors—and the blade—between the fingers of her left hand. Refusing to succumb to the (very enticing) temptation of throwing them all back to where they came from as her way of returning fire, she entertained the idea of discarding them by dropping them onto the floor, but also decided against it—someone could be careless enough to step on them and get hurt. So she simply took to her heels again and recklessly tossed them into the very next garbage bin she and Kurama passed.

"Ne, _I'm starting to get the idea that—_"

_The defensive shield of his Territory does not include me,_ Kurama finished for her.

"_Exact_—"

She stopped short upon realizing that she and Kurama were caught between a rock and a hard place: several of the fangirls had ganged up in front of them and blocked their way through, while the ones left behind had collected all their strength to lift a heavy wooden classroom chair and launch it right at the two of them.

Suddenly, an image of his Rose Whip and a hulking carnivorous plant flashed before her eyes. Kurama's trains of thought—she could see them all! Setsu tightened her grip on his hand. "_Too drastic! Don't even_ think _about_ those_!_"

Without warning, she let go of his hand, caught the school desk with both of her own, and put it down before the both of them. She snatched his right hand in hers again—before he could even notice his new nails—just as her stronger hand clenched the chair and violently shoved it forward, using it as a makeshift shield and battering ram against the human obstacle course the horde of fangirls had formed in their path.

As they ran further, golden eyes could only watch that messy head of hair bouncing before them—those rebellious streaks of brown; those muscles by the nape of that naked neck, strained and just screaming for a massage; that mind, ticking like a time bomb…

_They want to hurt you, and by any means necessary,_ Kurama noted to himself. But she heard him. _Yet you go the extra mile not to even the score._

"_Iie._" Blue eyes darted down to spot-check the number of human feet that her chair slammed against and forced aside. If she could only keep her thoughts to herself, she would have remarked, "_Despite my best efforts not to, I still might be hurting a whole lot_ _of 'em._"

As they ran even further, golden eyes fondly gazed upon that messy head of hair bouncing before them. Little did they know that beneath that messy head of hair was a troubled, silently screaming mind.

A most disturbing feeling bubbled in Setsu's blood. She felt violated. First Kaitou had deprived her of her own tongue; now Kurama, her every thought. The moment she uttered his true name, she lost not her soul but her secrecy. Not even in her own mind could she hide from him now. She had opened the floodgates flowing to forbidden waters. She had to close and lock them again soon, or else—! There was no telling what could possibly happen to one—or both—of them!

"_This way!_"

Still steering the wooden desk through the crowds, she turned sharply at the next corner and dashed right into an open doorway. Kurama followed her and shut the door behind him, even pushing the lock on the knob. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple as furious fists hammered the plywood against his back again and again and again.

When he turned to face her, another silent student in the room caught his eye.

Kaitou Yuu was seated behind the teacher's table, his fingers pressed together to form a steeple, the lenses of his spectacles glinting ominously against the classroom ceiling light. Behind him, the words: _"I've been expecting you. What took you so long?_" in bold red dripped down the whiteboard like blood oozing off a wall.

* * *

Thick, tarry blood oozing off the city walls. Demon bodies bathing in their own blood. Decapitated heads as far as the eye could see. Stomachs slit open, guts spilling out. _Ningenkai_ flies splitting the spoils among themselves.

Neither gruesome sight nor nauseating stench fazed them. They had wreaked all this havoc themselves.

A twig slinked out of Kurama's sleeve, from under his wrist. The wooden stem penetrated the keyhole of Hiei's metal shackles—he had finished his fights while they were still cuffed to his wrists and ankles. One careful nudge from Kurama freed Hiei's hands right away.

Crimson eyes darted away, refusing to meet green, as the fox demon worked on the irons still weighing down on the fire demon's feet.

"That demon," began Kurama on bended knee by Hiei's side. "He studied you carefully, Hiei. He knew your weakness—"

"Hmph!" The small, short-tempered _jaganshi_ took no time to grunt in reply. "You're giving that fool too much credit, Kurama—"

"Still, it takes quite an eye to observe how your kinetic speed decreases slightly, yet significantly enough, when you are forced to change direction at short notice."

The memory of the past few minutes flashed before three eyes. He _had_ had to zip and zigzag to the sides more often than he usually did, no thanks to those henchmen and their tactical formations.

"You should know," Kurama stood up just as the heavy clamps on Hiei's ankles broke off, the soldered metal clattering against concrete. "You're almost unstoppable, Hiei—when moving in just one direction at a time. _Shikashi_, you have a split second lag time when you suddenly change course. He had figured how to defeat you with your own strength: to impose an obstacle before you during that very interval, so you cannot dodge it in time."

Hiei's brows furrowed even deeper than they already were. "I have no interest in your little lectures, Kurama. Don't waste your time. And mine."

The demon now missing his white blindfold and black robe walked away, preparing to vanish from Kurama's sight.

"Hiei."

Without even turning to face his ally, Hiei stopped to hear him out for one last time. Only for Kurama.

"Why did he want your _Jagan_?"

Hiei closed his eyes.

"Why don't you just ask your _ningen_ 'friend'?"

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

Bumps, booms, and bangs still echoed from behind their locked door. But the three of them paid much less heed to all of it than they would have under ordinary circumstances. This time, they let it pass—after all, only one of them could actually speak.

"_Minamino._" Kaitou put his red-inked whiteboard marker to good use. "_So thoughtful of you to join us._"

"Perhaps I should thank you for making me feel welcome." The denim blue sports cap still concealing his hair—and thankfully, his eyes—from anyone who looked at him without paying very close attention, Kurama crossed his legs in his seat, appearing as natural as he possibly could. "But you must know by now that I'm not thankful at all."

_I believe that you need to be reminded._ Sitting to his immediate right, and as close to him as humanly possible, Setsu slowly inched her left hand towards Youko Kurama's back. _This is between him and me._

Kaitou slid the eraser across the board and scribbled in place of the words he had just wiped away. "_This is perfect! This is a golden opportunity, Minamino—you shall watch me take Mayonaka_-kun_'s soul with your own two eyes! Everything's coming up roses, don't you think?_"

_What a blatant reference to your powers._ Setsu rolled her eyes.

"_So I've noticed._" His expression did not change at all.

But hers did. Her gaze fell just as a shadow eclipsed her face. _Ne, we really must not make a habit out of this._

"_What you told me earlier…_" Even in her thoughts, his voice trailed off. "_Why is it danger—_"

Suddenly, the tip of her left pointer finger lightly poked the small of his back, beckoning his full attention to that part of his body.

He sat perfectly still as her fingertip spelled out one letter after another against his clothed skin, both of them looking straight ahead and hoping that Kaitou would not suspect anything fishy at all.

* * *

But Kurama was tailing him. He was hot on his heels.

"I was asking you a question, Hiei!" The redhead yelled to the wind lashing in between them.

The _jaganshi_ gnashed his teeth. Kurama was being more annoying than usual. More stubborn. More persistent. Was his so-called "investigation" of that insufferable _ningen_ girl going nowhere? Was he now getting desperate for his "answers"?

"Get off my back, Kurama." An over-speeding Hiei spat over his shoulder. "If you wanted to ask him all along, you should have thought twice before cutting off his head!"

"I _have_ to know what she told you, Hiei! About your _Jagan_!"

Suddenly, the tree that Hiei jumped on to get a momentary boost into the air caught his leg and swallowed him alive.

Hiei landed on the grassy ground with a thud just as Kurama towered over him, the taller demon's shadow blocking the sun and the sky from his eyes.

"This is your own fault, Hiei. You made me do this."

What? What was he talking about—?

The shadow shrouding Hiei stretched out farther across the grass.

Shit! He was—!

"_KUSO_—!"

* * *

Golden eyes shut, Kurama concentrated on the words that Setsu was finger-spelling onto his back. His eyelids snapped apart upon piecing her full message together. _S. O. M. E. O. N. E… I. S… L. I. S. T. E. N. I. N. G… T. O… U. S._

_In the privacy of our minds…?_

A calloused finger continued writing without ink. _Y. E. S._

This was it. Kurama finally raised the question he had been raring to ask for the longest time.

_Who?_

Setsu simply shook her head.

"_I can't say._" She never said it, but he caught earshot of her anyway.

Kurama fell into an innermost silence. Most everyone else—whether human or demon—would have been careless enough to allow even just a flicker or flashing image of the individual in question to slip into their minds. But hers drew a complete blank. Her willpower was strong. He knew it well now.

"_Getting bored, Mayonaka_-kun_?_" Kaitou scribbled onto the whiteboard, holding the eraser in his other hand, ready to rub out any potential evidence or blackmail material against him at any given moment. "_Why don't we talk about your day?_"

Setsu opened her mouth widely, feigning a dry laugh. Even when no words escaped her lips, her sarcasm was written all over her face.

"Let me tell you why. You can't." Kurama answered in her behalf, slipping his own right hand behind her back. _Kaitou shouldn't notice her hand moving behind my back if I also keep mine behind hers._ "You had agreed upon the most challenging Taboo contract you had ever forged. Live with it, and suffer the consequences you brought upon yourself."

"Ne, _has anyone ever told you just how intimidating you sound sometimes?_"

A small smile crossed his lips. With his right hand on her back, he returned her light poke, pointing her to the very answer to her rhetorical question.

_You._

Kaitou adjusted his glasses and turned back to the board. _"I see you two are having fun without me._"

"Iie. _In spite of you, actually._" Setsu corrected him in silence. Kurama stifled a secret chuckle.

Both of them could almost hear Kaitou harrumph in arrogant dissatisfaction. If only he could speak! "_There better not be anything going on behind my back!_"

"_Oh, but there is behind_ ours."

And for a moment there, Kurama could have sworn that that very thought came from his own mind.

* * *

An ominous darkness consumed the _Ningenkai_ sky.

Clouds of smoke and soot swirled across bleeding heavens, spawning a dark obelisk shadowing the entire city. Chains of pitch-black lightning with the white-hot intensity of a dozen suns forked from cloud to cloud, their crackles crisp, deafening to human ears.

This was just the beginning.

A black-white thunderbolt shot down upon the earth, striking a middle-aged man chatting away on his mobile phone while standing on the sidewalk. He was but the first of many, many more.

Students playing hooky from their classes huddled together and hugged each other, trembling in their school uniforms, as they beheld the mysterious, menacing aura enveloping Yukimi.

It was coming.

* * *

"_And you can't trick me into laughing this time, Minamino! Not even if you pull off that last stunt of yours again!_"

A smile pulled on the corners of Setsu's lips. And it pulled _hard_.

Kaitou's memory of Kurama's "stunt" was priceless. That primitive caveman brow—those tiny, crossed eyes—those inappropriately flaring nostrils—that horrendous harelip—those colossal buckteeth—that naughty tongue! How amusingly out of his character! That epic facial expression could sink a thousand ships! Suddenly, all the trouble she had gone through putting up with his fangirls was totally worth it.

Could the stoic Hiei and his nerves of steel have resisted reacting—even just flinching—to the sight of That. Stupid. Face?

"I won't even try, Kaitou. I just want to see this game to its end."

So did she. And fast. Preferably before she loses it from unbridled laughter.

* * *

"ATCHOO!"

A thick, clear fluid dribbled down Kuwabara's nose. He threw his head back and sneezed again.

"Hey, Kazuma-_kun_!" A dark-haired female classmate of his wearing a pair of shades as her hair band clapped a hand upon his back. "You okay, hon'?"

The carrot-haired college student snorted the mucus back into his nasal passages. "I, uh… I think I'm getting the 'tingle'…"

"The _tingle_?" The sophomore with the sunglasses on her scalp reeled back in surprise. "What, y' gotta pee or somethin'?"

Still sniffling more than usual, Kuwabara looked out the sliding glass window. "Nah, I'm jus' getting the feeling something _really_ bad's about to happen anytime now…"

Kuwabara and his classmate weren't the only students from Gaikou Technical who noticed that the sky had turned into blood.

* * *

Kaitou eyed his two advanced English classmates seated across him. Even while sitting next to none other than Minamino himself, Mayonaka-_kun_ was holding her own in this Taboo game of theirs. She still spoke not a word.

However, Minamino aroused Kaitou's suspicions even more than how much he aroused his fangirls. Never before had he been so close to any female classmate—or to any of their classmates at all, for that matter. Never had he also borrowed a classmate's cap—or any other article of clothing—and actually worn it in full view of everyone else on campus, especially considering his overzealous fangirls and their reactions to every last breath and step he took.

So what was it about Mayonaka-_kun_ that… changed… Minamino so much, so… noticeably? Even at that very moment, it seemed as though they were locked in a secret embrace!

They weren't cousins. She herself had confirmed this.

What was their secret? _Her_ secret? _His_?

"_What are you hiding?_" He uncapped his marker and guided its tip across the whiteboard. "_I demand to know!_"

* * *

Urameshi Yusuke slapped his own cheek for the fourth time in a row. But the mosquito emerged the victor once again.

Now with one insect bite on the smack middle of his forehead, down his chin, behind his right earlobe, and two especially itchy ones by the scruff of his neck, Yusuke scratched away, part of him wishing that he had his demon fingernails back.

"That bitch was right," the sour-faced human-demon hybrid muttered angrily to himself. "Maybe I should'a installed a TV here. _Anything_ t' get my mind off these damn mosquitoes!"

Suddenly, the tallest corporate tower in the central business district collapsed and crumbled to smithereens. Trouble was brewing uptown! And for the ramen peddler to hear the commotion even all the way from his stall on the city outskirts, right by the train tracks, whatever it is must be _huge_!

Chocolate brown eyes widened. "_That_'ll work!"

Long, lean legs in denim jeans leapt over a wooden counter and raced to the scene of the crime.

"I gotta be careful what I wish for next time!" commented Yusuke to himself, excitement pumping through his veins. "I jus' might get it!"

* * *

Suddenly, Kaitou rapped on the whiteboard with his marker. Gold and blue eyes faced the front of the room and read the word wizard's most recent masterpiece. _"What are you hiding? I demand to know!_"

_Do you_ really _want an answer to that?_ Blue eyes met spectacled ones. _You just might regret it._

_Kurama_-sempai. She stood up. _I need you to play along with this until the very end. Stand and close your eyes,_ onegai. _Open them_ only _when you hear him utter the one word that will strip him of his soul._

"_Be careful._"

Setsu smiled. _I will._

Without another word, Kurama rose from his seat and waited for Kaitou's defeat in blind darkness.

Setsu took him by the sleeve and gently ushered him to the back of the classroom. While he blindly fumbled past chair after chair, she pushed and pulled them out of their way, slowly but surely backing Kurama and herself to the farthest corner of the room. Soon she had assembled all the desks to form an entire barricade between them and Kaitou, who remained in front by the whiteboard. They were now cornered, and completely surrounded.

Kurama listened intently to the scratch, scrape, and shuffle of hardwood chair against tiled floor. What was going on? Why was Mayonaka-_san_ moving the chairs around so much?

Before Kaitou could turn back to the board to "speak," she grabbed the front brim of her own sports cap and took it off Youko Kurama's head. A silver flood spilled down his shoulders and back.

Kaitou clapped his hands over his mouth, trying his utmost best to hold back his gasp of surprise.

* * *

Both younger stepbrother and older stepsister glanced up at the haunting bloodstained sky.

"What's happening?" cried Maya from inside her motorbike helmet. "Is it about to rain? This doesn't look like ordinary rain to me!"

Sitting in front of her, Kaname felt the slim arms wrapped around his waist tighten their hold on him. The racing bike driver could already make out a most familiar campus gate emerging from the distance.

"_Ane_." He called out over his shoulder. "Hang on."

A practiced flick of his wrist sent his two-stroke Yamaha flying to break the city speed limit.

Tsuki _should_ still be in Meiou right now…

She may have already rejected him, but a voice from the back of his mind told him to stop her from getting wet in _this_ rain.

* * *

Who _was_ that shimmering silver creature—a demigod from the Demon World? Was that _really_ Minamino in his true form? But when did he…? And why did he…? And how did he…? And how did she…?

But she had another surprise for him. And this one was much closer to his heart.

She closed her eyes. Suddenly, a nest of brown hair untangled, grew, and darkened before disbelieving bespectacled eyes. A split second later, Mayonaka-_kun_ did not look like herself at all.

Icy blue eyes opened to reveal soft brown.

"_Nami!_"

Neither said it, but both knew that _that_ name had very nearly cost Kaitou the game.

The beautiful, bubbly Akasaki Minaku gave him an adorably cute wink, whirled to face Youko Kurama, and leaned closer to the tall, handsome man with his eyes closed—that fair, ethereal presence whose rosy lips just so deserved to be kissed.

* * *

"_I'm sorry I kissed you!_"

Maya was nowhere near done rehearsing that one line in her mind.

"_I won't do it again!_"

As she and Kaname fast approached the campus grounds she once knew to be her junior high school, Maya sensed a strange, unnerving energy surrounding its perimeter.

The sensation didn't hurt, but it was definitely disturbing. She felt lost… displaced. Like Kaname's motorcycle had just driven into another spatial dimension altogether. Living with Kaname-_chan_ himself felt that way at times. But this was different. She didn't recognize this aura at all.

"Minamino-_kun_…" she mumbled absently to herself.

Could something be happening to him?

* * *

THEY MUST NOT KISS!

Kaitou charged forward and shoved two classroom chairs aside, only for his own anti-violence barrier to work against him himself and deflect the force of his hands.

The petrified psychic fell to the floor from the impact, his entire body freezing in more fear than a deer caught in truck headlights as the lips of his newfound beloved drew closer and closer and closer and closer and closer and closer and closer and closer…

He would not allow it, no matter what!

Without even brushing the dirt off the seat of his pants, Kaitou got to his feet and leapt onto the desk nearest him, then onto the next one, then the next—

But—!

"NOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

_Kaitou!_

The name burst out of him as a gasp. Kurama opened his eyes. Before him billowed a rose-red ripple.

_You…!_

He stretched his hand out towards the tidal wave.

_Got you._

**Continued  
****  
**This chapter was just so… so… I don't know—_you_ tell _me_!

It was chock-full of antagonists—that's for sure! XD

I give full credit to **krm3DeeDee**-_chan_ for originally writing the scene involving Kurama fangirls bribing boys into doing their dirty work for them. (You can read how she wrote it in her YYH fanfic entitled _Girl in the blue scarf_—which I would just _love_ for her to continue! ^-^)

As you have already read, Setsu has a full repertoire of techniques of her very own, all of which actually have "official" names. (Yes, even the ones Kurama referred to by other, "unofficial" names in previous chapters.) But sometimes they're more of a disadvantage to her. You can read more about them in the next chapters. ^^

[shameless plug]  
But while you're waiting for them to be posted, please don't forget to check out my new ficlet! _**The Trial of Minamino Shuuichi's Lover**_ is a (spoiler-free!) glimpse into the conclusion of _this_ fic! \^o^/ (Now how could it possibly be a futurefic and _not_ contain any spoilers? Well, you're just going to have to read it for yourself to find out! XD) It's found here: fanfiction (dot) net (slash) s/6511557  
[/shameless plug]

Much love and cookies to **Milli (dot) Helen**-_san_, **crazyagent013**-_san_, **Royalmistress**-_san_, and **Kajihenge Yoko**-_san_ for already reading and reviewing _**Shuuichi's Lover**_! I would love to hear from the rest of you, too! ^-^

(If you're reading this, **crazyagent013**-_san_, then I commend you for your observation on how Kurama feels about Setsu in _Shuuichi's Lover_. You were on to something there! ^^ But since _Shuuichi's Lover_ is set post-_Never Knew_, there lies another explanation behind it. The lattermost chapters of _Never Knew_ shall unravel it all.)

P.S. Again, happy holidays! \^o^/ Happy reviewing, too! I hope you'll live out the spirit of gift-giving this yuletide season and give love on Christmas day by reviewing! ^-^ (Err… Copyright infringement of song title not intended. XD)

P.P.S. No translation glossary this time. Go ahead, call me lazy. I don't mind. XD


	18. The Accessory

**A/N  
**There were two Kuramas running around in the previous chapter.  
(If you figured it out on your own, then I congratulate you! \^o^/)

So yeah, Kurama faced demons with Hiei _and_ Kaitou with Setsu… at the same time. But there has _got_ to be a catch, right? Read on to catch the catches in this cat—I mean chapter! XD

* * *

A million thanks to the most inspiring godsends who still made it a point to review this fanfic even if I had posted a link to another one in the last chapter:

**Kajihenge Yoko**-_san_: Sun and fire… Your username is hot. XD Fiery, I mean. ^-^ And I totally agree with you on the difference between your pen name and Kurama's… err, breed…? of demon. Hurray for pickiness! XD Here's the next chapter! (Sorry it took some time!)

**Pewter Queen**-_san_, to whom this is dedicated _twice_: Thank you for the virtual brownies this time! *develops sudden craving for virtual marshmallows* XD (I'm kidding—you don't have to. ^^) And for reviewing _Shuuichi's Lover_, too!

As for Maya's abilities… She said so herself in the _Two Shots_ bonus chapter at the end of Volume 7 of the _manga_: that she "can sense spirits." So I just assumed that she could sense Territories (like Kaitou's) as well. And the anonymous girl with Kaname in Episode 94—you're right, what a poorly drawn episode!—_was_ Setsu. And yes, this fanfic shall eventually explain the entire process behind her conversion to humanity. Kurama's, too. *winks* I still love hearing from you!

**unknown player**-_san_, to whom this is dedicated _twice_: *sees Kaname off* *waves goodbye* You can have him for as long as you want. *pushes Kurama out the door the next day* And you can _keep_ this one! XD

I know, Kurama's fangirls are getting on my nerves, too. *sighs in exasperation* A laptop! O.O I wouldn't throw mine at anyone even if I were rewarded with a new one! XD (Un)fortunately, both Kurama and Setsu seem to be too… mature and self-possessed… to sink to the fangirls' collective level, so I don't think it would be in character for either of them to exact revenge on those annoying aficionadas through something as violent as head-bashing. (Well, at least we all know that they _want_ to. ^^) But I can assure you, those pains in the neck—not to mention somewhere else down there XD—shall be put in their right place… soon.

Thank you for reviewing _Shuuichi's Lover_ as well! ^-^ Yes, I see what you mean regarding the romantic relationships in this fanfic—they aren't merely "flings." I'm so glad you see that little something about Kurama and Setsu that distinguishes them from other YYH pairings out there. I call theirs a romantic resistance. We need not even see them kiss or make out or make love or resort to physically, sexually erotic displays to know what they feel for each other. We just… know. ^^

Your virtual "sighs" make me smile—I can almost hear a sort of airy, wistful contentment in my mind's ear. ^-^ (Sorry about the WTF? ending of _Shuuichi's Lover_—I didn't mean to disrupt your sigh prematurely.) Oh, and I can't wait to let you read the Kaname-centric scenes coming up in _this_ fic! (You're right—a three-way love chase could serve as good emotional exercise for the heart. XD) I regret to inform you, though, that the especially… *clears throat* interesting… scenes are not in this chapter, but the next. Please check this one out, all the same! ^^ *waves again, this time to all three of you: you, Kaname, and Kurama*

**yellow worm**-_chan_, to whom this is dedicated _twice_: Wow. I see you're really reading and reviewing this fanfic one chapter at a time. ^-^ Thank you for your concerted effort, then! Can't wait to hear more from you!

And **krm3DeeDee**-_chan_: Oh, no harm done, and no excuse necessary. ^^ To be perfectly honest with you, I don't think either of us really entered a sort of unspoken "pact" or agreement to read and review each other's fanfics so promptly, so… religiously. It just all started when you first reviewed this fic of mine, and I checked out some of yours, and here we are. ^-^ While I'm very happy to hear from you chapter after chapter, please be assured that you are under no pressure or obligation to submit reviews to my fics. So, apology accepted, but really, no need to even apologize in the first place. XD As I say time and time again, I'm just happy to hear from you again. \^-^/ And I'm always excited to read more chapters of your fanfics, too.

Yes, the Eternal in Chapter 17 _was_ quite hostile for a mystical creature as old and wise as it was. As always, there is a reason behind this which, unfortunately, I won't be able to reveal until the climax of this fic. But here's a hint to tide you over until then: The Eternal was watching everything happening around Hiei… through Hiei's eyes. So what or who did Hiei see that caused the Eternal to react that way?

I think the only reason as to why I've been writing scenes with Kaname and Maya together is just to show all of us how both of them are as characters when Kurama and Setsu are not around. ^^ Kaname's teasing sense of humor borders on _hentai_ to me. XD Just the softcore kind. And yup, Sanae is the _only_ saving grace of that abominable fan club. ^^;

You're right—Setsu _is_ quite self-contradicting at times. If I may refresh your memory, I once mentioned in the FAQs in Chapter 11 that she's a complicated, counter-intuitive character. For instance, just when we think she's distancing herself from him, _that_'s the time they gravitate to each other like opposite poles of a bar magnet. XD I hope this shows how her relationship with Kurama crosses the threshold of anti-heroism (which we know as his cyclical, recurring "Is she an ally or an enemy?" suspicion) into a somewhat deeper level—a "hold-me-close, let-me-go" kind of tension lingers between them. It's as if both of them are well aware that they're "not supposed to," but then they "still do." I can't explain it very well at the moment, but I think you get it anyway. ^-^

As for Kaitou losing his own game of Taboo… I understand what you mean—he _should_ have put up more of a fight, but didn't. Again, there was a reason behind that, and thankfully, it's in this very chapter. ^^ And Kurama was actually grilling only _one_ of them—I mean Hiei and Setsu—in Chapter 17. And it wasn't his anger that morphed him back into his Youko form. Future chapters will clear the mist on this.

Thank you, too, for writing another one of your meticulous, well-reasoned reviews. I'm also looking forward to the next one. XD

Oh, and a piping hot bowl of souuuuup and noodles—and thanks—to **Shush Love**-_san_~ \^o^/

Hi to **AmoreVampiresv-v**, **ChiyukiLuvs2Glomp**, **LovinLife21**, **FledgelingInk**, **LeahChristine09**, and **DarkMajix**, who just joined us in Chapter 17! I hope to hear from _you_, too!

And of course, the classic: Happy reading! ^-^

* * *

A shrill, unearthly wail pierced the air, first silencing all of _Ningenkai_ then instantly inciting mass hysteria among the creatures of its land. Even the crackles and claps of thunder, once deafening prophets of imminent danger, had now faded into mere sighs across the sky.

Both of them whipped their heads towards their classroom window to behold a gigantic, grotesque, yet graceful black beast spiraling among a dark vortex of clouds.

Golden eyes widened. He knew what—and whose—it was. "The _Kokuryuuha_!"

Green eyes widened. So did she. _Hiei!_

She took one step closer to the window, the same step away from the only other body in the room still possessing a soul. Suddenly, a gasp clogged her throat. She could not distance herself from him. Sharpened canine claws had caught the long red strands attached to her scalp. And those relentless thieving talons refused to let go.

She was trapped.

**18: The Accessory  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **De(con)struction  
**(Originally entitled _The Saboteur, Part 1_)

Since the two of them united to fight against the vicious, six-armed Yatsude, Hiei never thought that he would ever have to do it again.

To point his own sword at Kurama.

But he did it.

And this time, Kurama betrayed him not by simply jumping in to defend Urameshi. This time, Kurama betrayed him for no one else but himself.

The now heavily injured swordsman had not even swung the gleaming white blade close enough to make contact with the skin of his adversary when it smashed against an invisible wall and shattered into pieces.

"_Nani_?" A flicker of shock and disbelief crossed Hiei's face, more blood oozing off the socket of his third eye.

The barrier surrounding the redheaded demon was spherical in shape, more of a bubble than a wall. Its reflective bluish colorlessness looked familiar to Hiei. But the energy emanating from it was not Kurama's. Hiei was sure of it.

Then it hit him.

"That _ningen_."

"_Sou_. Kaitou."

A smile played on Kurama's lips as he stood tall before Hiei, the defense shield of Kaitou's Territory armoring him from anything and everything that the other demon could even think of doing to him.

"Have you forgotten, Hiei?" Green eyes mocked mercilessly as they looked down on the smaller demon. "I told you that you were fighting too close to my school. You should have remembered what his Territory does to you."

Crimson eyes scanned their surroundings. Kurama was right—that sturdy ten-foot structure he called his school was now only several lampposts away. They must have gone closer and closer to it when they were slaughtering those accomplice demons from earlier. Kurama—no, whoever this impostor was!—had been very subtly sidling him closer and closer to Kaitou's Territory the entire time!

Suddenly, Hiei began to laugh. Insultingly, for that was the only reason he ever laughed in all his life.

Kurama's brows furrowed.

"Now I know why all these fights have been so worthless."

The cocksure _jaganshi_ threw the now half-bladed hilt of his sword away, held his right palm up, and curled the fingers of his right hand, summoning the tattoo on his right arm to life. Despite the blood dripping off it, his _jagan_ dilated and glowed into an ominous violet.

"I haven't killed the mastermind!"

* * *

"NOOOOOOOO!"

A radioactive green tongue of fire burning within a sealed orb the size of a human heart floated off Kaitou Yuu's chest and took to the air, leaving behind a human body stiffening from head to toe.

Eyeglasses, freckles, and all, the now soulless Kaitou collapsed upon the classroom floor, frozen into cold, hard stone.

* * *

"Your sword didn't work. And you know very well that neither will your fists," chided a still slyly smirking Kurama, his arms still folded across his chest. "What makes you think your dragon will be any different? As long as you resort to your usual violence, you'll achieve nothing in Kaitou's Territory."

"You're not invincible," grunted a cocky Hiei, his tattoo vanishing from his skin. His entire right arm had been swallowed into the eye of a thrashing black cyclone, raging, releasing the massive demonic monster roaring from within. "If you were strong enough to fight me yourself, you wouldn't have had to trick me into his Territory!"

The _jaganshi_ spat hotly, his teeth gnashing in seething rage.

"And if you thought even for one second that that face could save you, then you're _dead wrong, you fraud_!"

A powerful battle cry broke out of his lips as an even more powerful blazing black hellfire blasted off his arm, storming towards none other than Kurama.

* * *

Stampeding footsteps and screams of panic assaulted Kuwabara Kazuma's ears.

"THERE'S A—! THERE'S A—!"

"A _MONSTER_'S ABOUT TO HIT US!"

"AAAAAAAAHHH!"

"RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIIIIIVES~!"

"_NANIIIII_?" shrieked a terrified Kuwabara, his small eyes now as wide as saucers, a cacophony of alarm bells ringing off in his head. Suddenly, a cataclysmic earthquake violently shook the concrete under his feet. Standing right beside him, his dark-haired female classmate screamed at the top of her lungs and crashed into his bulky shoulder, the sunglasses on her scalp dropping onto their classroom floor, their dark-tinted lenses snapping apart.

A giant black ghost spiraled past their window, devastating the main Gaikou _Fuzoku_ building in its path, smashing every last glass window and light bulb in their room. Their ceiling cracked and gave way, enormous slabs of concrete collapsing on top of the college students desperately forcing to escape the disaster alive. Keeping his classmate steady by gripping her shoulders, Kuwabara could only stare in dumbfounded horror as the most familiar dragon cut off all light from the sky and blanketed his entire classroom in its dangerous, death-bringing darkness.

"HIEI, YA SONNUVA BITCH! ARE YA OUTTA YER MIND?" cried Kuwabara to the heavens, cursing the only short little pipsqueak he knew who must have hailed the dragon all the way from another world just to wreak certain chaos in this one. "I DON' LIKE YOU AN' YOU DON'T LIKE ME, BUT _THIS_ IS WHERE YA CROSSED THE LINE!"

He turned his heels and charged out of their classroom door, punching and clobbering several of his classmates blocking his way through. "I GOTTA GET T' THE BOTTOM OF THIS! GET OUTTA MY WAY!"

Knocking two especially hard, stubborn heads together, the college sophomore broke into a frantic dash after the _Kokuryuuha_, his inner turmoil tensing muscles in his body he never even knew existed, his jaws clenching to each grudging thought of Hiei taking their petty rivalry to a whole new level.

"What's gotten into 'im? All his hair gel gone straight t' his _head_?"

* * *

Eyeglasses, freckles, and all, the now soulless Kaitou collapsed upon the classroom floor, frozen into cold, hard stone.

Suddenly, a shrill, unearthly wail pierced the air, first silencing all of _Ningenkai_ then instantly inciting mass hysteria among the creatures of its land. Even the crackles and claps of thunder, once deafening prophets of imminent danger, had now faded into mere sighs across the sky.

Both of them whipped their heads towards their classroom window to behold a gigantic, grotesque, yet graceful black beast spiraling among a dark vortex of clouds.

Golden eyes widened. Kurama knew what—and whose—it was. "The _Kokuryuuha_!"

_Hiei!_

His fingers still gripping that billowing rose-red ripple before him, his mind raced ahead. _But why did he call upon the_ Kokuryuuha _here in_ Ningenkai_…? Is he—_

"Minamino-_sempai_."

She could speak again.

In that one split second he was distracted, flowing wisps of hair slipped off his grasp, and his canine claws stunted back into human fingernails.

Green eyes still glittering of gold returned inside their classroom and found a head of messy brown hair and blue eyes rushing to their fallen colleague. The now shorthaired Setsu knelt by the now motionless Kaitou's side, gazing intently upon the radioactive green orb hovering over his marble chest.

"Something's wrong outside." Now-blue eyes looked up and confronted now-green. "I'll watch over Kaitou-_sempai_."

Kurama immediately recognized what she was up to this time. Mayonaka-_san_ was persuading him to leave the room and attend to Hiei. But something had just happened here. Something that had never happened to them before. Something that he could not ignore, that he could not just let her get away with—after all, it could never happen again. _But Hiei…_ He would never summon the dark dragon to fight against just anyone. He was in big trouble. _Should I stay? Or should I check on Hiei?_

Setsu knew that he was torn.

"Our 'talk'," she murmured with the slightest hesitation, discreetly referring to the telepathic conversation that they just had. "It can wait." She pursed her lips together and continued only in his mind. "_He needs you._"

Kurama eyed her squarely, speaking without moving his lips at all. "_But—_"

"_I won't run from you._"

At that moment, a hazy memory brushed against him and tugged at his judgment.

"_Don't worry." Amidst that busy, bustling crowd, he and Urameshi Yusuke passed each other, never even once establishing eye contact but communicating all the same. No. They were fast forging a bond. "I have no intention of fighting you, nor do I intend to flee."_

Green eyes fell. _What I once asked of Yusuke is now what you ask of me._

The determination of persuasion blazed in those blue eyes. "_Had I any intention of running from you, don't you think I should have already done so a long time ago?_"

Another caw-like cry from the flaming black dragon sent his blood rushing through his veins, as though Hiei had just fired an attention-grabbing flare into the sky.

"_You could choose to just trust me—or not—but right now you're running out of time to make that choice._"

Again, a faint, faraway Urameshi Yusuke of four and a half years ago revisited him in the present.

"_Why are you telling me all this?" Confusion scrunched his eyebrows together. On his first week on the job, the Spirit Detective could not even begin to understand how a_ Youko_—or any demon, for that matter—could be capable of not just having, but also deeply—dearly—loving a human mother._

_His hands jammed into his pants pockets, Kurama gazed out the view deck of the Nakayama General Hospital rooftop. "Perhaps I just needed to bare my soul…"_

_Green eyes confided in Yusuke, devoid of all pride and pretense. Not once did Youko Kurama dare show the very face that he now wore as Minamino Shuuichi. Entreating. Vulnerable. And, though he would never admit it, painfully lonely._

"… _to someone who was willing to trust me."_

A fist clenched in secret. _I know what it's like to ask for trust, Mayonaka_-san. _I was lucky—Yusuke trusted me._

_As for you…_

Giving her one last icy look, Kurama turned his heels and sprinted away, leaving the stone-cold Kaitou lying still and silent beside a just as still and silent Setsu. "_This isn't over, Mayonaka_-san."

"I won't run from you," she avowed once more, this time aloud, even when he was no longer in the room. Sandy brown hair veiling secretive blue eyes, she took a deep breath and sighed.

"Never again."

* * *

Chocolate eyes widened as Urameshi Yusuke chased after the scaly, raven black reptilian body cutting across the streets of Yukimi City. The _Kokuryuuha_ had just reduced yet another tower to rubble. A yelping Yusuke lurched aside to avoid one particularly chunky hunk of concrete about to land smack on him.

"HA!" cried Yusuke in toothy-grinned victory. "I'm not dyin' a _third_ time jus' from being flattened into some human pancake!" Long, painful screams of desperation and death blaring into his ears, stone-like debris rained down on his back as his legs sped away. "Man, whoever Hiei's fightin' must be one tough customer!"

Now the _Kokuryuuha_ encountered another crash collision, this time into a building that Yusuke could have sworn was inside a college campus. The out-of-school teenager watched with shameless relief.

"Whoa!" Yusuke reeled back even as he ran. "I wouldn't wanna be from _that_ school!"

* * *

A calloused hand cradled the radioactive green orb in its palm, and then pushed it back into solid marble.

"Restore."

The flickering tongue of fire penetrated through Kaitou's chest of stone, and the _Fuuin_ enveloping both of them turned invisible even to her, vanishing to nothing. Only then did she sense it. _There's another one._ Distant, distracted blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. _Another Time Seal. Nearby._

Hardened stone thawed into human flesh, starting from Kaitou's chest—right by his heart—spreading all the way to his extremities. Stubby, square fingers twitched once, twice. Charcoal eyes behind thick-rimmed spectacles regained their sight and blinked.

_But Kaitou_-sempai_'s Territory is cancelled now. So are our Seals._

"Even… without words…"

Blue eyes turned back to a freckled, bespectacled face now moving and speaking again.

"… You still…" Kaitou rasped softly, scratchily, as if he had lost his voice for far too long. "… used her against me…"

_So_ this _Seal is not mine._

"_Mengo_."

Kaitou needed not get up to find a good view of the face of the second challenger to have beaten him at his own game. He could not make out the emotion shadowing her expression. Was it… shame? But wasn't _he_ the one who had just lost face here? After all, Minamino had a successor now. Kaitou was not—and would never be—proud of it.

"It was bad of me, I know. But one of us _had_ to speak sooner or later," Setsu smiled ruefully, sadly. "Who knows, it could have been me."

A haughty smirk twisted Kaitou's lips. Her words emboldened him, as though in some distant alternate reality, _he_ was the true victor of their game. "Too bad." He raised his hand slowly, his fingers curled up, cupping an imaginary soul floating in the air. "I would have enjoyed watching your soul in the palm of my hand."

"_Iie_. You wouldn't."

Setsu shook her head.

"It would have been colorless."

At that moment, a million questions plagued Kaitou's mind. How could her soul be colorless? And how did she know that it was? He wanted to ask her everything, one after the other. But his pride would not let him. Her defeating him, not to mention her returning his soul to him all on her own, was enough embarrassment to last him the day. He needed not learn just how much more she knew about the soul—and possibly his own Territory—than he did. He mentally pushed all his questions aside—all but one. The one that had been burning to be asked since it first sparked in his mind. "Tell me just one thing, Mayonaka-_kun_. Are you…"

The knob of their classroom door spun.

"… Nami?"

Just then, the real Akasaki Minaku flung the door open and scurried inside the room, slamming and locking it behind her. Even until now, the fangirls crammed behind the door were still trying their most desperate best to knock it down.

"_There_ you are, Setsu-_chan_! I thought I'd grow old and wrinkled just _looking_ for you!"

Setsu jerked her head to the side, pointing Kaitou to the girl now fast approaching them from behind her.

"How could I be?"

Nami clutched her chest, catching her breath. From her labored breathing alone, neither Setsu nor Kaitou felt any need to ask her what lengths she had gone through just to enter their classroom. "I don't know what all this fuss is about, but they said you were last seen running into this room! What's happen—" She finally caught sight of Kaitou sprawled upon his back on the floor, right by Setsu's knees, and gasped. "I mean, what _happened_ here?"

"_Mengo_, Nami-_chan_," Setsu rose to her feet just as Nami took her place, kneeling by Kaitou's head. _I_ have _to know where that other Seal is…!_ "Have to go check on something. In the meantime, keep him company for me, _onegai_." She turned the doorknob. Nami could barely hear her next outcry—"_Arigatou_, Nami! I owe you one!"—over the sudden violent uproar that had exploded upon her return to the fangirl-packed hallway.

The deafening voices and footsteps soon died into the distance—they must have followed her. And for the first time since they met, Kaitou and Nami found themselves alone.

Both concern and curiosity pouring from her melodious voice, Nami studied the flushed freckled face now lying on her lap. She brushed a loose pompadour strand off his brow. "Are you okay, stranger-_san_?"

Kaitou pushed his eyeglasses up his nose bridge to get an even better view of her face.

"I am _now_."

* * *

Kitajima Maya's flower-printed skirt bounced by her knees as she stepped off Hagiri Kaname's motorcycle. That strange, unnerving energy surrounding Meiou _Daigaku_ had suddenly mysteriously disappeared. But not by some slow, gradual ebb. She felt it. It had been… withdrawn. Sucked back into whatever—or, unbeknownst to her, whoever—had created it.

"Don't pick me up, Kaname-_chan_!" She reminded her younger stepbrother, waving a petite hand at him while adjusting the shoulder straps of her purse with her other hand. "I'll go home on my own!"

Kaname said nothing. With another practiced twist of his wrists, he revved his Yamaha and rode away.

Maya could not contain her excitement. Her stomach was churning on its own. Butterflies fluttered in it. No—it was doing flip-flops! Somersaults! Cartwheels! Word around the alumnae grapevine was that a certain Minamino Shuuichi was now enrolled in one class in Meiou _Daigaku_, and so—like in all her past adventures and encounters with the supernatural—she wanted to confirm the truth for herself. And this time, she would not encroach on his space or his privacy. She would not do anything that he would not be comfortable with. She would stop herself before anything of that sort happened again.

"I hope it's still here…" she mumbled to herself, fishing for the small stuffed figurine of a white-haired, yellow-eyed man inside her handbag. "I hope _he_'s still here…"

Right when she brought the tiny accessory out into the light, a familiar female voice caught her attention.

"Well, well, well! Look who's on _our_ turf, ladies! If it isn't Potential Threat Number One, Kitajima Maya herself!"

Suddenly, that wonderful, fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach wrenched into a horrible, revolting ulcer.

* * *

He had not forgotten Tsuki. He was not avoiding her, either. But he did not stay one second in Meiou _Daigaku_.

Someone else had caught his eye.

His unprotected hair flailing against the wind, his forelocks scattering behind his face, a helmet-less Kaname gave his accelerator pedal one strong kick, taking his speed up a notch. He could still make out that flurry blur of red several blocks ahead of him, turning a sharp right at the next intersection. Long red hair… Carnation pink uniform… The very reason his _ane_ revisited her former campus in the first place.

But more importantly, who had just pulled out that Territory from inside Meiou? What was a Demon World dragon doing in the Human World? Why did he sense Tsuki's _reiki_ just now? What was going on?

That redhead just might have the answers. They were probably why he was running.

Lavender eyes glared at that red silhouette in the distance. Kaname harrumphed to himself. He already knew it even before he had taken her there—going to Meiou was a total waste of Maya's time. Not even once did he ask himself if he would go back and tell her that her reason for going was not there. She would find out for herself soon enough.

As for _his_ reason… She had already rejected him, anyway.

"She can wait," he justified to himself, but not believing himself at all.

Kaname trailed Kurama into the next corner, leaving oily, tar black skid marks in his backtracks.

* * *

_Sheesh._ Running as fast as her legs could carry her, Setsu rolled her eyes to herself. _What_ is _your problem, people? Minamino_-sempai _isn't even here…!_

A pack of rabid Minamino Shuuichi fangirls still chasing her to the ends of their campus, Setsu skipped one, sometimes two, steps down the staircase, silently hoping against hope that she would not fall down the stairs. She threw a glance out the next window to check on the _Kokuryuuha_ and how much (more) damage it had done to the city.

But before she could pay attention to the fire-breathing dragon on a riotous rampage, another black vision outside campus caught her notice. This one was small, much smaller than the beast. But it was also moving, fast. It was traveling away from Meiou.

_Ame_-kun. _He had passed by._

Her forelocks hiding her face from view, she turned the corner of the banister, biting her lower lip.

_But he didn't stay._

Now she was on the edge of another window and darted another glance past its sill and frame. This time, she sighted someone else.

_Kitajima_-san—

And imposed before a very deeply frowning Kitajima Maya was that beautiful blue-eyed brunette whose four jock menservants even carried her on a royal pillow all the way to her classes. A mere wave of Matsudaira Akiho's hand gathered more students to circle Maya. They were ganging up on _her_ this time!

—_She's surrounded…!_

Sniffing danger poisoning the air from two floors away, Setsu mentally rescheduled settling odds with Kaname for a later time.

_He could wait._

At this point, the ferocious growl of the _Kokuryuuha_ sounded close. Closer than ever before.

She was half a flight of stairs away from the next window, yet she could all too well see the jaws of the dragon growing larger and larger than life, dripping toxic, acid black venom for saliva, opening wide to sink its behemoth fangs into the English Institu—

* * *

Kurama leapt from one tree branch to another with silent stealth, stalking after the tail of the _Kokuryuuha_.

_Where it ends is where Hiei is_, he estimated.

Every other pounce of his feet got him thinking about the two advanced English colleagues he had momentarily left behind.

_Ryunosuke and Sanae stood before the class, taking turns discussing their favorite redhead and why they both just loved him so much. Almost everyone else in their room leaned in and listened most attentively, a hoot, a wolf-whistle, and a moan of pleasure interrupting them every now and then._

_Without turning his head, Kurama stole another glance over his shoulder, double-checking to confirm that the face of the freshman hidden under the brim of that denim blue cap three rows of seats away had not yet turned to stone._

_He pointed pen towards paper, then slipped his notepad back onto his seatmate's desk. No one saw. Spare the busily doodling freshman, they were all too preoccupied listening to the fanboy and the fangirl enumerating their reasons for being such avid fans of a certain someone in their midst._

"_Shall I call Genkai to stand by for assistance, just in case?"_

"_Just in case_ what_? I lose my soul? Not even over my stone-cold, dead body." Kaitou wrote back on the next line of the ruled page. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Minamino." Kurama could hear his sarcasm screaming from the print. "Do I not stand even an iota of a chance in a game from my own domain?"_

"_Your chances are slim, I'm afraid," jotted Kurama, only to scratch out the last two words before passing the pad back. "You're up against a power that can stop time itself, and quite possibly reverse it. She might want to try_ that _out the moment her tongue slips."_

"_Unfair advantage!" scrawled Kaitou furiously, cold beads of sweat forming on his brow. Being the supreme ruler of his own Territory was pointless once Mayonaka_-kun _played dirty. "All I can do is to hold my tongue!"_

"_Calm down. My bluff," confessed Kurama. "Reversal just my theory. Can you not bend the rules and settle for another arrangement more flexible than this? It could work to your favor…"_

"_Impossible. Not while this game is in progress," insisted Kaitou on paper. "There's a catch, Minamino. To change the rules in the middle of the game, I'll have to talk. And that just so happens to be the very act I've forbidden myself to do."_

Sou ka… _Kurama paused, deep in thought._ The power of his Taboo allows him to forge contracts using words… the very words of which he had now deprived himself! _That_ is the inherent flaw in Kaitou's Taboo!

"_Would you at least consider a forfeit?" continued Kurama, exploring other options. "If_ she _loses, we'll have to take her statue to Genkai, who will find out about you. If_ you _lose, your soul will rest in her hands, and Genkai will never have to know."_

"_And what if she doesn't return my soul to me?"_

"_Then_ I _will_ _get it back from her myself."_

_Kaitou adjusted his glasses, their lenses gleaming ominously against the ceiling light. A smirk crept up his lips. Minamino may_ sound _as though he was rooting for Mayonaka_-kun_, but the truth was that he was perfectly willing to change sides to protect his own interests. But what_ were _those interests exactly?_

"_So now I'm supposed to_ lose _just so Genkai doesn't have my head on a spit?" Kaitou's pen strokes were becoming heavier—more forceful—with each word. "Tempting as it sounds, I'm not convinced. Tell me the_ real _reason you wish to see her win!"_

"_Not to see you lose," assured Kurama. "I want to see_ how _she will win, and if she could put your body and soul back together. The plan is foolproof—in case I won't be around to witness it_, you_ will."_

Stepping on his eighteenth tree branch, Kurama wondered where Kaitou's soul was now: still in Setsu's hands, or back in his body. If it was the latter, then the word wizard had much to report to him soon.

"_Keep it a fair fight, Kaitou. But in the event that you do win, and you don't take her to Genkai, she will be reported missing in forty-eight hours or less. A published wordsmith, pleading innocent, tried for first-degree murder only to be convicted of homicide and sentenced to serve at least ten years on the very year he graduates at the top of the most elite university in the country… Tragic. And all that ruined the life of this man of vast potential was a mere victory over a friendly word game. That's one for the tabloids. What will your readers think?"_

Kurama made a mental note to dispose of those sheets of paper before Setsu could have her hands—or her much too observant eyes—on them. Perhaps Hiei and his sword or his flames could do the trick once all this was over.

Looking back upon his "contribution" to Kaitou and Setsu's round of Taboo, he could finally give a specific name to that sinking, murky, hollow feeling of his. It was not aloneness. Not emptiness. Not helplessness. Not powerlessness. Not indecision from a failure to name whatever his emotion was.

It was nothing.

He felt no remorse for intimidating Kaitou, both in paper and in person. He held no loyalty for either him or Mayonaka-_san_. He had no qualms with either of them losing—if Kaitou won, then he himself would get to see the hue of her soul; if Mayonaka-_san_ won, as she did, then Kaitou would get to divulge to him how she had defeated him. And if she was even able to reattach Kaitou's soul to his body, then all the better for him—the more of her powers he would know.

It was a hollow feeling because it was nothing.

"_KURAMA!_"

But that time she called him his demon name… Something happened. It wasn't that his heart skipped a beat. It didn't stop beating. It didn't beat faster or slower than usual. It didn't beat the wrong way.

It was simply indescribable.

It was a murky feeling because he could not even describe it.

"_Kurama_-sempai. _I need you to play along with this until the very end._"

"_Be careful._"

"_I will._"

A reminiscing Kurama momentarily closed his eyes. _I strung her along… made her believe I was on her side…_

_And she trusted me._

It was a sinking feeling because it may have been guilt all along.

* * *

_Not another Time Seal._ Setsu discarded her first plan of action, since her objective was not to paralyze the dragon in mid-air_—That would even catch more attention than necessary_—but to repel it.

"_Fuukan_."

Just then, a reverse electromagnetic field in the form of a large-scale fishing net nearly more than ten thousand times the size of both Time Seals that had cocooned Kaitou and her shut out the entire Meiou school grounds from the rest of the Human World. Invisible to everyone else but her, the glowing white lattices crackled with a supercharged thermionic current that humans would most easily mistake for common household electricity. The threads of this spiritual spider's web were few and far apart—a standard five-door utility van would be able to steer into one of its gaps without its driver even feeling a thing. Even if it had a roof rack on top.

_So_ this _is all I can do now? My old ones made good mosquito nets,_ Setsu winced to herself. Only now was she beginning to grasp the repercussions of being human on the power capacity of an Eternal. _Oh, well. The_ Kokuryuuha _is big, anyway. This should suffice._

In order for it not to smack against the campus-wide shield, the flaming black dragon swerved up into the shadowed, thundering heavens, loudly crying its dissatisfaction to the angry red sky.

Setsu clenched her right hand. It was bleeding again, more heavily than before. And a dizzying, blinding migraine now threatened to cleave her brain apart.

* * *

Kaitou's Territory—it's gone!

But why was his dark dragon not attacking the fake Kurama at all? Why was it merely flying up into the sky, as if avoiding something? Whatever it was, it _had_ to be strong—strong enough to stave off the Dragon of the Darkness Flame itself.

"Tch!" Hiei gnashed his teeth.

The Kurama doppelganger smirked evilly. Things were going even better than he planned. Despite that troublesome Kaitou having withdrawn his Territory at the very last minute, the Kurama double still had an ace up his sleeve. Another even more powerful _kekkai_ had suddenly shielded the periphery of the entire Meiou campus—including where he himself was standing!—from the _Kokuryuuha_. He still had double protection against it: his own Time Seal, and now that newly released _Fuukan_.

And he didn't even have to lift a single one of his beautiful fingers.

But that Eternal in there… She must be pushing herself past her human threshold of pain by now. The _Fuukan_ was the strongest defensive spell in all of _Reikai_, and impossible for even a spiritually gifted and trained human being to cast. A secret technique conceived by the first Eternal and revealed only to _Reikai_ royalty, the indestructible _kekkai_ was a result of accumulating centuries—and in the case of Eternals, millennia—of concentrated _reiki_ within the confines of a personal vessel always and forever in close physical contact with the body of the spellbinder, if not actually inside his or her body. The longer the time the energy was contained; the more powerful its impact upon release.

The Prince of the Spirit World, for one, had been storing his _Fuukan_-intended _reiki_ in a pacifier that he had been teething on for more than five hundred years until that fateful day he cast the _Mafuukan_, a specialized variation of the _Fuukan_ specifically designed to ward off demons. The Eternals, however, came into existence with no bodily form, so they made do with the only containment vessel that they were born with: their minds. Only after five millennia of self-sufficiency were they each bestowed a _Toki no Suna_ of their own.

But _this_ Eternal had been summoned. That changes everything.

Erecting a spiritual barrier akin to their royal prince's _Mafuukan_ itself must be far too excruciating for an already summoned Eternal to handle. Her _ningen_ brain could only take so much. After all, she was now vulnerable to the most fatal inherent weakness of humanity: their physicality. Because her Eternal mind now occupied and assumed the tangible physical form of her human brain, it had its limits. For one, it could very possibly burst.

* * *

Setsu blinked the blur of pain away from her eyes. It didn't work.

_It hurts. Real. Bad. But I_ still _believe that this is a much better end of the deal than keeping a pacifier in my mouth my whole life…!_

* * *

"What a shame, Hiei." Darkness eclipsed the counterfeit Kurama's face. "Neither you nor your dragon could hurt me."

"Hmph."

Hiei mirrored his opponent's smirk, evil for evil.

"Let's just see about _that_."

It was only a matter of time now.

Whoever this phony was, he was about to get a taste of him _and_ his _Kokuryuuha_—together. The beast was now returning to its master. And Hiei was just waiting to absorb it into his own body.

* * *

"GIVE IT BACK TO ME, AKIHO!"

"NOT UNTIL YOU GROVEL AND BEG ON YOUR KNEES, KITAJIMA!"

Despite the throb and sting in her mind slowly plugging up her ears, Setsu could hear them all the way from inside the English Institute. From what she could make out from the next window in her path, Akiho and the other Minamino Shuuichi fangirls were tossing Maya's stuffed accessory back and forth, seemingly playing a game of catch with each other high above Maya's head. Albeit Maya jumped frantically and raised her arms as much and as high as she could, she simply could not reach it.

Setsu shook her aching head to herself. _These fangirls. Not even cats themselves engage in so many catfights in one day._

At that moment, the golden bracelets on Akiho's wrist glistened in the sunlight, blinding Setsu even from afar. The leader of the fangirls was raising her hand, ready and raring to hit her target.

Maya's face.

Blurry blue eyes widened. _I'm taking too long to reach them…!_

A leg in both a skirt and sweatpants swung up. The sole of a black school shoe, fast wearing out from all its owner's running, stepped onto the windowsill.

_I_ must _have something against my better judgment_—she bit her lip—_I keep going against it. Oh, what the heck._ She took a deep breath and braced herself for a rough landing. _Not like this is the first time…!_

Even just the second floor window seemed a long way down. And no Hagiri Kaname would catch her now.

* * *

"HIEI!"

Yusuke cupped his hands around his mouth, eyeing every bulldozed building and smashed sidewalk in sight.

"HIEI!" He yelled again, overhearing the smoky, speckled wind echoing him. "WHERE ARE YA, YA BASTARD?"

It wasn't the wind after all.

"HIEI, YA BASTARD, Y' BETTER COME OUT WHEREVER YA ARE, 'CAUSE ONCE I FIND YA, YOU'LL BE SORRY Y' WERE EVER _BORN_!"

"Hey, _that_ wasn't me," Yusuke blinked and scratched his head, scanning his surroundings for that other gruff, vulgar voice also seeking Hiei out.

Without warning, huge, heavy chunks of stone collapsed from the already cracked concrete fence behind him. Yusuke whirled and found a most familiar burly, beefy body slogging all over the wreckage that was once a wall. "_Oi_! Kuwabara!"

It seemed impossible, but Kuwabara's gravelly bass voice now squeaked even higher than before. "_Urameshiiiii_!"

"Yer lookin' for short stuff too, huh?"

But before the two former gang rivals-turned-bosom buddies could exchange some small talk, a slapstick gag, and a playful punch or two, both Yusuke and Kuwabara heard a smooth whoosh slice the air.

Then the faint, wispy rustle of the tree right behind them.

"Yusuke…! Kuwabara-_kun_…!"

Caught by surprise, both bruisers formerly from Sarayashiki High tilted their heads up at the sturdiest branch of the tree and exclaimed in perfect sync. "KURAMA!"

Gently propping his hand against a chip of wood peeling off the gnarly bark of the tree trunk by his side, Kurama merely nodded at both of them, his seriousness written all over his face. "Hiei—the _Kokuryuuha_—"

Yusuke cut him off. "I saw it, too!"

"Yeah! _It destroyed my school!_" moaned a distressed yet outraged Kuwabara.

"Wait a sec!" Chocolate eyes widened. "That was _your_ school?"

"Huh?" A spider vein popped on Kuwabara's temple. He didn't like that toothy leer Urameshi just made. He had a baaad feeling about it.

Just as the other, shorter redhead of the _Reikai Tantei_ landed safely on the ground, the only one among the three young men not currently enrolled in any educational institution burst into a very hearty laugh, his hands planted squarely on his hips. "And t' think I almost felt sorry for the poor young whippersnappers who study there! But it's jus' _you_!"

More spider veins broke out all over Kuwabara's head. "_Whaddya mean, 'it's_ just _me'?_" he spat hotly, his body twitching with pent-up fury. And just like that, they were back to the "hate" cycle of their ever-changing, never-changing love-hate relationship. "Are ya lookin' for a _fight_, Urameshi?"

"I'm _lookin'_ for one, but I can't find anyone who can take me on an' _live_!"

"_THAT_'S IT!" The delicate thread that had been keeping Kuwabara's temper together finally snapped. "ME AN' YOU—" He pointed to himself with his thumb, then instantly prodded his pointer finger onto Yusuke's chest, challenging his lifelong rival to an on-the-spot fistfight. "DUKE IT OUT—" He pointed to the ground. "RIGHT _NOW_!"

"_You're on!_" A smirking, cocksure Yusuke cracked all of his knuckles, one by hard one.

Kurama cut in between the two and clapped restraining hands on both their shoulders. "Come on, you two. Not now." Despite his husky alto sounding as eerily calm as it always did, his green eyes shone with concern. "Save your energy for Hiei's enemy!"

Now all together again at long last, the former _Reikai Tantei_ were bound by one common goal: To find Hiei. So they also shared the same conundrum:

"Yeah, but where _is_ 'e?" cried a hysterical Kuwabara, his resentful mood swinging back to his original source of annoyance—the small, sadistic demon who had totaled his school.

"I've been followin' his _Kokuryuuha_ around, but it's been goin' _everywhere_!" Yusuke threw his hands up in the air, both his failed search for Hiei and his deferred brawl with Kuwabara frustrating him. "He could be _anywhere_ in this damn city!"

Kurama checked the bloody black sky upon Yusuke's mention of the dark dragon and pointed at it, his other hand clenching into a fist at his side. "It's retreating! It must be returning to Hiei! He's about to absorb it to boost his power!"

"_GYA_!" The tallest of the three reeled back, his face a sour, awful mess. "He's gone _nuts_! Did 'e forget which _world_ he's wipin' out 'ere?"

"Looks like he's havin' a blast without us!" cried Yusuke, the feverish rush of excitement fueling him even more. "What're we standin' 'ere for? Let's go!"

"_O_!" Kuwabara pumped a clenched fist into the air.

Kurama nodded.

And the three former _Reikai Tantei_ tracked down the otherworldly firedrake soaring across the skies.

* * *

Another titanic roar shook the grass ground by his feet. His _Kokuryuuha_ had once again been deflected, this time from uniting with him himself.

Crimson eyes narrowed. "_Nani_?"

The dark dragon rammed against the invisible cocoon enveloping Hiei once—twice—thrice just as the _Jagan_ on his forehead pulsated a vibrant purple once—twice—thrice. What was wrong? What was stopping the _Kokuryuuha_ from fusing into him? Couldn't his _Jagan_ counteract whatever it was? Was it not working?

An unspoken greed glistened in two green eyes. "Now…"

Suddenly, the Rose Whip lashed towards him, again leashing by the throat. But Hiei was quick enough to brace his own arm against his neck, so the whip lassoed his wrist as well. It could not strangle him just yet. The Kurama impersonator would have to hack off his hand before he could severely slash his head.

But how was the whip able to touch him when his own dragon could not?

"… Return it to me."

His _Jagan_ pulsed faster.

* * *

"_NO!_" Maya shrieked, shielding her face from Akiho with both her arms.

Akiho's hand was merely inches away from her former junior high school classmate's cheek when suddenly a pair of legs in both a skirt and sweatpants crash dove in between the two girls' bodies, one landing on the foot, the other by the knee.

A protective arm thrust in between their faces.

Now face to face, two blue-eyed brunettes from the advanced senior English class of Meiou _Daigaku_ traded merciless, skin-penetrating glares.

"Mayonaka!" exclaimed a startled Akiho.

Crouching behind Setsu with her hands over her head, Maya freed a gasp. "Kaname-_chan_'s…!"

"How many lives must you make miserable in one day?"

Setsu was the very picture of disapproval.

"_Heh_." Undaunted, a smug Akiho closed her eyes. "Was our 'welcoming ceremony' earlier not enough for you, our young, insolent lit-tle Ma-yo-na-ka-_chan_~?" She tilted her head to the side, her shrill melody oozing of mockery. "Or do you just want to be the center of our attention all the time? If that is your wish, I would be delighted to oblige you. And so would they."

She motioned to the other members of the Minamino Shuuichi girls' fan club now encroaching on them from all sides. The ones chasing Setsu down the stairs were fasting joining forces with them as well.

Icy blue eyes singled out one particular girl among the lot, another student in advanced English, and sent a shivery chill down her spine. "_Sempai_." Setsu's cold gaze lowered to the stuffed toy figurine in the girl's clenched fist. "I know that's not yours."

"It's mine!" insisted Maya from over her shoulder. "Give it back!"

"That ugly little thing?" snorted Akiho, waving her dainty hand dismissively—and secretly giving her subordinate the signal to dispose of it posthaste. "Of what worth is such a childish piece of trash to you, Kitajima? Grow up!"

"It…!" Maya found herself struggling for words. As mean as she was, Akiho could actually be right. Maybe it _was_ a childish piece of trash… Maybe she _shouldn't_ give it to Minamino-_kun_… "It's not…!"

"Strong words," scoffed a knowing Setsu. "For a young girl who took _years_ to break her emotional dependence on a rag doll with one eye and a broken smile."

"_EEEEEHHH_?"

The members of the Minamino Shuuichi girls' fan club all blinked and murmured among themselves, wondering if their flawless, fierce commander in chief really was once flawed and not so fierce after all.

"SHE WASN'T UGLY! SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL, JUST LIKE ME!" growled Akiho in impulsive defense of her favorite childhood toy, all her fond memories of it misting her eyes. Little Aki had always worn the exact same lacy dress and loved the exact same brand of chocolate that she herself did. Through the years, those sweet-smelling stains never left Little Aki's face and clothes even after countless wash and spin cycles… even when the bigger Aki learned that cute boys laughed at not so cute girls with pudgy cheeks and dirty dolls… even long after both Akis had grown—the little one grew shabbier and shabbier; the real one grew up.

Upon realizing that she had just given away irrefutable proof of her own imperfection to her followers, Akiho froze in shock. "How—! How—!" She blinked back a tear welling up in her eye. "How—!"

_How_ could _you, Mayonaka Setsuki?_ Setsu filled in for her in her own mind, scolding herself for what she had just said. _No matter how she's been treating you, you just used her past against her! You fed upon a deep-seated insecurity just to… Memories never serve such a purpose—you and your_ big _mouth!_

A runaway tear escaping her eye, Akiho wrestled with herself to continue. "HOW DID YOU KNOW—!"

_You were wrong! Now go fix the spirit you broke!_

Now it was Setsu's turn to tilt her head to the side. She blinked with an air of innocence. "What? You mean I was right?"

Wide-eyed with curiosity, Maya simply stared at the messy head of short brown hair before her, her fingers lightly touching her own lips. There was… something… about Kaname-_chan_'s girlfriend that she could not quite place. Could she be… different… from everyone else…? Could there be something… special… about her…?

… just like Minamino-_kun_…?

Is _that_ why she intrigued him—because they were the same?

* * *

Hiei scowled menacingly. What was the conman demanding from him?

"What's mine."

That deceivingly gentle wrist wrenched on that seemingly authentic Rose Whip, dragging Hiei closer to that most familiar but fraudulent face. Upon a much closer look, green eyes burned with a raging fire that Hiei was certain was not Kurama's at all.

_This_ Kurama was out to kill him.

"Return _what's mine_ to _me_!"

Just when the jagged, pointed barbs of the whip needled deeper into his throat, all of Hiei's three eyes lost their light.

Why was everything suddenly pitch black? Had he just been beheaded? All that he could now sense from his eyes was the metallic coldness of his own blood still leaking from his _Jagan_ and dripping down the rest of his face.

"Hiei!"

But he could still hear.

It was still Kurama. But he sounded farther away. And not giving out a life-threatening order. Now he was… alarmed.

Hiei was still blind when the Kurama choking him simply vanished into thin air. No longer could he feel the friction of rope burn chafing his neck and wrist, nor the razor-sharp thorns raking his flesh. He could only pick up footsteps… pairs of them… around three… rushing towards him all at once. Apparently, the fraud still had not run out of backup.

They came from the ground, according to his ears. Only one seemed gracefully light on his feet. The other two galloped with heavy, bumbling strides, not even an ounce of stealth—not like high-class demons at all.

Their voices were familiar, too.

"_Hiei_! We've been lookin' _all over_ for ya!"

"Yeah, what's wrong wit' you, Hiei? Y' jus' destroyed _half the city_!"

Opening his eyelids again proved to be an overwhelming struggle. Hiei took several tries before they fluttered back to a hazy vision of Kurama with his whip at the ready, as well as the detective and the giant fool on either side of him.

"Hmph!" grunted Hiei, more insulted than ever. "You can show me as many fakes as you want, but I don't buy any of your pathetic acts at all!" Crimson eyes bore into Kurama's skin, wishing him a painful death. "_Say your prayers, traitor!_"

'_Fakes'?_ Green eyes widened. _'Acts'?_

'_Traitor'?_

The real Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara froze at the sight of a gigantic, graceful yet grotesque black beast descending upon them three, its jaws unhinging to the very full, all too eager to devour them alive.

* * *

Akiho's face was now beet red from fighting back the last of the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "That was one lucky guess, Mayonaka. A _cheap_—" she spat into her freshman classmate's face. "—shot on your part."

_There. She's back to her element now._ An exasperated yet relieved Setsu sighed to herself. _Guess the stupid catfight's back on._

The fan club mastermind snatched the white-haired, yellow-eyed stuffed toy from her accomplice's hand, dropped it onto the asphalt ground, and stepped on it with her whole weight. "And because of _you_, Kitajima won't get her precious piece of shit back!"

"NO, DON'T!" cried Maya, rushing forward past Setsu's arm and towards Akiho's feet, reaching for her accessory from under her former junior high school classmate's heel. "THAT'S FOR MINAMINO-_K_—!"

_Not the best thing to tell_ her_…!_

"Kitaji—!" Setsu moved in to stop her, but neither of them had even completed their outcries yet when Akiho lifted her foot off the figurine—to trample on Maya's hand.

Maya yelped in pain just as Setsu grabbed the toy and stashed it in her skirt pocket with one hand and took hold of Maya's free hand with the other, ready to run away and take the older girl with her. "Gotitlet'sgo—"

Setsu whirled around and Maya stood up again only to press their backs against each other, wall upon wall of fangirls cornering them to their spots and closing in on them, allowing them no possible way out.

"They're too many, Mayonaka-_chan_!" Maya held her sore, reddening hand to her heart, gingerly curling it into a loose fist. "This is just too much!"

"Leave us alone, _sempai-tachi_." Setsu's voice was now just as threatening as her eyes. "This Minamino-_sempai_ thing has gone way too far—"

"Shuu-_chan_?" Still in the same mocking tone as before, Akiho placed a perfectly manicured hand upon her own heart, as if shocked to hear the name of her beloved. "Why, no, no, no." She shook her head and clacked her tongue thrice. "This has _nothing_ to do with him. The two of you just…" Her minions laughed along with her, all their beauty lost in their evil. "… really piss us off!"

"What a coincidence. Is the feeling mutual for you too, Kitajima-_san_?" Setsu addressed Maya without even glancing behind her.

"Yeah!" cried Maya over Setsu's shoulder, working up the nerve to give their mutual foe her most menacing glare ever. "_They're_ the reason I left Meiou after junior high! They bullied me all the time!"

"You must have been on speaking terms with Minamino-_sempai_ too, then." Setsu's lips twisted into a cocksure smirk. "_They_ could only _wish_ they were."

Akiho's perfectly plucked eyebrows twitched in annoyance.

"HOW DARE YOU—!"

Akiho raised her arm again, this time to hit Setsu on any part of her body—after all, the sick witch deserved more than a beating on _every_ part of her body; she should be burned at the stake!—when, before she could bring her hand down, Setsu quickly caught her arm in mid-air and pinned it behind her.

* * *

"_Awesome_!" yelled Yusuke, all the muscles in his body flexing and his hands balling into fists. "It's been a _damn_ long time since I last had a decent fight!"

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara matched him shout for shout. "What the hell are ya sayin'?"

"_JAOU ENSATSU!_" Hiei thrust his now tattoo-less flaming fist at them, his eyelids threatening to shut more and more by the split second. He could hardly stand upright now. Was the earth wobbling under his feet, or was it just him…? "_KOKURYUUHA!_"

"_REEEEEIII GAAAAAAAAN!_"

His left hand bracing his right wrist steady, Yusuke aimed the barrel of his Spirit Gun—the tip of his right pointer finger—straight at the attacking black beast and fired a blinding bluish white beam just as the master of the dark dragon staggered forward and back one last time, then finally collapsed with closed eyes.

"Hiei!" Kurama caught the falling Hiei in time, gripping his unconscious partner in crime by those pale, sculpted shoulders.

"WHAT?" A jaw-dropped Yusuke groaned over his duel to the death gone wrong. "He conked out already? _Dammit_, Hiei! Y' were too easy on me! I thought y' had more _fight_ in ya!"

"He exhausted himself, as always." Still holding the _jaganshi_ stable, Kurama looked up at a Yusuke scowling like a little boy whose mother just recently grounded him from playing his favorite game. "Despite how strong he is now, calling for the _Kokuryuuha_ from _Ningenkai_ still expends a dangerous amount of energy."

"I can see _that_!" Wiping big beads of sweat off his brow and heaving a loud "Whew!" in relief, Kuwabara eyed the small but terrible powerhouse now soundly sleeping in Kurama's arms. "He sure got the wind knocked right outta him!"

* * *

"SHE'S HURTING ME!" Akiho screamed from the pain of her own arm being twisted behind her own back. Actually, it wasn't all that painful, but she had to play it up to convince the other fangirls that she needed reinforcements, and fast. "GET HER!"

"Mayonaka-_chan_!" Maya called out, clutching her aching hand to her heart as Setsu let go of Akiho's arm and stood perfectly still in the face of an entire mob of fangirls charging right towards her. The college freshman looked up at the golden sun now finally emerging from behind the clouds. The sky was gradually clearing up again. _The_ Kokuryuuha _is gone. No need for the_ Fuukan _now._

At that moment, the latticed force field containing Meiou _Daigaku_ vanished, and a stormy shower of shards of glass, concrete, cement, asphalt, and other rubble from the devastated skyscrapers of Yukimi splattered all over the now exposed campus. Screaming their heads off, Akiho's now hysterical minions broke into a chaotic dash to the nearest roof to take cover from the sudden deluge of debris.

"Come _back_ here, you spineless sissies!" roared a most displeased Akiho, pointing at the ground beneath her feet as a command signal for their return. Many seeking comfort by hugging each other, the fangirls shook their heads at her, absolutely refusing to submit to her demand.

"Useless," muttered the forsaken leader to herself. "You're all _useless_!" Akiho grabbed a fistful of Setsu's hair, yanking those short brown strands out of their roots for good. With her free hand, she motioned for two of her male bodyguards to hold Setsu still. "You two! Keep her hands where I can see them!"

"STOP IT!" Maya wrestled to free her arms from four other girls holding her down. "STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"

With neither problem nor protest, the tall, muscular football jocks seized Setsu's arms with vise-like grips. Setsu was about to elbow the one clamping her left when suddenly, a flickering vision of Akiho slapping that very manservant's face crossed her mind. The same picture flashed before her eyes again and again and again.

_How often…_

Sorrow eclipsing her eyes, Setsu straightened her arm and let it slowly drop to her side.

… _does she hurt you?_

Akiho turned to her other slave and curled her pointer finger teasingly, seducing him into coming closer. "You there." She pointed to the lit cigarette between his lips. "Give me that."

Taking care not to release Setsu from his lock and hold, the smoker was just about to fish for his near-empty packet of cigarettes in his pants pocket when his darling snatched the nicotine stick off his mouth. "Only say the word, my queen, and I shall give you your own—"

"No. This will do." Without even turning to look at him, Akiho eyed the orange ember glowing at its tip. "Your reward." She brought the stick to her lips and puffed it once, blowing out a ribbon of smoke right into Setsu's nostrils.

The Akiho fanboy's nose bled the moment he realized that he had just lived long enough to experience an indirect kiss with his beloved queen.

_You have_ got _to be kidding me._ Had the circumstances only been different from how they were, Setsu would have taken the time to shake her head and roll her eyes.

The two male bodyguards pinning both her arms behind her, and her forelocks still in Akiho's grip, Setsu held her breath, refusing to let the fumes into her lungs. But a sudden dusty stuffiness in her throat led to one soft, closed-mouthed cough all the same.

"As for _you_," Akiho waved the tobacco roll left and right before Setsu's nose. "Where, oh _where_ do you best look burned?"

"STOP, AKIHO!" Maya whipped her head to the side, temporarily freeing her lips from her four captors. "YOU'RE NOT—!"

The overlord watched with perverse pleasure as four of her underlings clapped gagging hands onto Maya's mouth. "That's not enough. She just won't shut up." She addressed a crony on standby. "You there. Get dirty socks from the locker room. Better yet, take off your own socks. We'll need both of them. One for _her_—" Sparkling lapis lazuli eyes glanced at Maya. "—and the other for _this_ one. _This_ one is about to scream her pain." She turned back to Setsu, pointing the smoldering end of the cigarette above the freshman's nose bridge. "Which eye, which eye?" She sang melodiously, foreseeing her own victory. As the fangirl beside them bent over to untie her own shoelaces, Akiho smirked evilly at a still straight-faced Setsu. "Strangely, I'm feeling generous. I'll let _you_ choose which eye I burn. After all, it's _your_ eye."

"I warn you now," Setsu never tore her eyes off Akiho's. Unblinking eyes faced the smoldering flame head-on. "The more you do, the more Minamino-_sempai_ will know of you."

Akiho harrumphed to herself and lowered the stick to level with Setsu's lips. "Oh, that mouth of yours. It's just _asking_ to be used as an ashtray! Teach her some proper manners, boys!"

Without delay, the two jocks struck Setsu from behind at the same time. Her chest lurched forward, but she remained rooted to her spot on the ground, speaking as though she had not been jostled at all. "Minamino-_sempai_ _will_ know of this."

Akiho could see it in those icy eyes: that that threat would sooner or later become truth. Somehow, at that moment, gazing—no, glaring—into Setsu's eyes felt like looking into a mirror. This Mayonaka Setsuki was just a classmate of Shuu-_chan_'s. Just one of the countless girls in his world. Just a girl. Just like her.

So what was the big problem with her?

"On second thought, I'll spare your eyes." Strongly defying the slightest change of heart instilling in her, an even more hotheaded Akiho tightened her grip on those short, messy brown forelocks. "Be thankful we have the same eyes."

"He'll know of everything," continued Setsu as if she was not listening to a word Akiho was saying—even when her upperclassman whacked her right on the cheek. "Of just how violent you have been to Kitajima-_san_ and me—"

"SILENCE!" Akiho thrust the flaming cigarette towards Setsu and stopped mere millimeters away from her upper lip, but her victim still did not move a muscle. "Oh, how you _tempt_ me to burn your lips! The lips he'll never kiss!"

Setsu watched without a word as Akiho guided the nicotine stick down. Down. Down. "But no. Not your face. I'll burn you where he can't see."

The freshman felt the bottommost button of her school coat coming undone.

"_That_'s right." A rich peal of laughter burst from Akiho's glossed lips. "I'll do it in a place he'll _never_ see!"

Several feet away from them, Maya was wildly resisting a rolled-up sock being forcibly stuffed into her mouth. "You'll never get away with this, Akiho!" bellowed Maya, still struggling to break loose. "I'll tell Minamino-_kun_ _everything_!"

"SHUT UP, YOU SNITCH!" Akiho snapped at her former colleague. "Even if you _do_ tell on us, he won't believe you! We have ways of disposing of evidence against us!"

"Oh, but we need not tell him anything at all." Despite her forelocks being pulled up and away from her face and the scorching end of a cigarette about to be imprinted against her bare skin, Setsu was still able to smile. Sweetly. "He's bound to find out about you the very next time he opens his locker."

Lapis lazuli eyes widened in shock. Akiho's curls bounced as she whipped her head around and ordered the girls behind her to make a run for it. "QUICK! ABORT FORTY-TWO DASH NINE—NOW!"

As the Minamino Shuuichi fangirls took to their heels and sprinted back to their beloved's rigged locker, Setsu's eyes narrowed. _But then the paint will fall on_ them…_!_ Her glare returned to its usual place: aimed towards Akiho. _You don't even think of_ their _sake!_

From the corner of her eye, the other two football jocks working for Akiho were brandishing some large black object over Kitajima-_san_'s back—

_This_ tears _it._

Suddenly, everything stopped.

Maya. Akiho. Akiho's men. Akiho's subordinate fangirls. Everyone else within range of her eyesight. All of them just stood still.

* * *

Three humans trained their eyes on the pale-skinned, three-eyed demon now lying on the grassy ground, his head resting against the stump of a tree that his own dragon had struck down.

"Did you see him?" As habitual of him whenever he was lost in thought, Kurama cupped his chin with one hand and his elbow with the other.

Sitting on another felled log with his legs splayed far apart, Yusuke propped his elbows on his knees, his back slouching even lower. "No, but Hiei couldn't have jus' been playin' wit' some imaginary friend!" He wisecracked, even elbowing Kuwabara seated next to him. But the only full human among the _Reikai Tantei_ remained more serious than usual, with his eyes closed and his arms crossed before his chest. "Hey Kuwabara, what's wit' the long face?"

The tallest of the four simply nodded to himself, ignoring Yusuke and getting right down to business. "I didn't see 'im either, Kurama. But he was there—I'm positive! He had the same kind'a _ki_ as that _youkai_—or whatever it was!—that saved the puppy before! It was _really_ powerful!"

"Huh? I didn't feel a thing!" Yusuke disagreed with a scowl.

Green eyes studied the _jagan_ no longer beneath its usual white blindfold. The lids of the demonic eye remained half open despite its master's loss of consciousness. A thick film of fluid coated the half-lidded _jagan_. It had already appeared this strained and inflamed once before. But now, it was even bleeding. Heavily.

_If the supernatural being that had saved the dog's life in the past was truly her in disguise… And the one who had once inflicted similar damage on Hiei's_ Jagan _was her as well…_

Still standing before the _Reikai Tantei_, Kurama closed his eyes in silent meditation.

_Could she have been Hiei's enemy?_

He was back to square one. His first theory was resurfacing more often than he had expected. Just when he had crossed it off his list, too.

_But what about her being in danger…?_

The hand gripping his elbow clenched it even more tightly.

_She could be both a victim and a perpetrator. Or a double agent._

_But why his_ eye_?_

"What a _wuss_!" cried a royally pissed Kuwabara to no one in particular, intruding into his thoughts. "Whoever he was, he chickened out before we could even get to 'im!"

"_Iiya_. I don't think he escaped us out of fear," reasoned Kurama, his brows furrowing. "He must be biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment to make his move. He wants _us_ to show our cards first before he reveals his."

"Damn, I jus' _hate_ it when those schemin' bastards treat fights like poker!" interjected Yusuke, shaking his fist. "Why can't he jus' use his fists an' fight like a _man_?"

_Because "he" may_ not be _a man,_ Kurama responded mentally. _That should make no difference to us in the least._ He paused._ Shikashi…_

"So, what now, Kurama?"

Kurama's shoulders sank. His investigation so far had been far from conclusive. It was disappointing. But he still smiled at Yusuke and Kuwabara anyway. Just a small smile, to lend them some shred of hope. "It would be best for us to wait for Hiei to awaken. _Shikashi_, from his earlier lack of hesitation to confront _us_, I'd say he was fighting someone in disguise." He watched Yusuke's scowl deepen. "As _one of us_."

"_Naniiiii_? But _that_ means he wouldn't know who it really was, either!"

"Kurama, didn'tcha tell me before that that dude who saved the puppy wasn't who he looked like?" Kuwabara stroked an imaginary beard in thought. "So if _this_ guy and _that_ one both weren't who they really are, then maybe—!"

"_Sou_." Kurama cut him short on purpose. His private frustration gnawed at him now more than ever. "I won't rule him out as a possibility."

"Don'tcha mean _her_?"

Green eyes widened. The two humans with pompadour hair had even blurted it out in perfect unison.

"Weee—know—whooo—yer—thiiinkiiin'—ooooof—!" taunted Yusuke in melodious song, his mischievous toothy grin lighting up his face. "Ku—ra—ma!"

Kurama sighed. _Not at a time like this…_

* * *

Lavender eyes spied past a curtain of leaves.

"… That's why I must return to Meiou at once. I've been letting her get away for too long."

A soundless, stealthy Kaname had hidden his Yamaha behind thick bushes. Now he was eavesdropping on them from behind a tree. He needed not look at them directly. But he wanted to.

"That bitch! Still up t' no good, I see!"

Smoldering lavender eyes narrowed. A hand clad in a black biking glove balled into a tight fist. He was _not_ going to let that vulgar Urameshi Yusuke get away with calling _his_ Tsuki _that_!

Kaname did not at all regret following Kurama all the way here. His instinct was right—something _was_ going on with Tsuki now that she was in college, and Kurama proved to know all about it.

"At least you _have_ a school to go back to! Mine's been blasted int' the next century!" The booming voice of that dimension-slicing _ningen_ swordsman—the one whom Sensui-_san_ had always called by the name Kuwabara—was Kaname's biggest irritant of the day. "Could one of y' guys give Koenma a call or somethin'? Maybe _he_ could do somethin' about it!"

"As for Hiei…"

"_I'm_ not takin' 'im with me! He's trashed jus' about enough of my school! Besides, I can't take 'im home either—it'll be _really_ awkward for Yukina-_san_! Let's face it—we may all know 'im, but he's jus' not part of the family!"

Suddenly, boisterous laughter erupted from Urameshi. What part of what that Kuwabara said was so damn hilarious anyway? Kaname simply could not tell.

"But one of us needs to be present when he comes to. We need his answers. I could come by after—"

Sighing deeply in resignation, a most uncomfortable Urameshi cleaned one of his ears with his pinkie. "Oh, _all_ right! _I'll_ take care of sleepin' beauty 'ere! But you guys owe me _big_, y' got that?"

* * *

Two girls restrained each of her arms. But Maya could not move even the rest of her body.

Why wasn't anyone else moving, either? Even those brittle brown leaves falling off the trees remained motionless in mid-air!

Her vision was dimming. Everything was slowly fading away. Now all she could see was a beautiful blur. A fair face… soft… curved… like a woman's. Emeralds for eyes… and red. Long… flowing… red…

… just like Minamino-_kun_…

And everything was gone.

* * *

"_Koenma wants us all together at the old bag's place this Sunday!" Yusuke scratched his nose, uncomfortable in his own skin. He was not at all a man of social gatherings. He felt awkward just inviting Kurama. "Didn't Botan tell ya 'bout it?"_

"_She told me and Yukina_-san _y' were out when she stopped by your house!" added Kuwabara._

_Sunday…_ As he sprinted back to Mayonaka-_san_ and the soulless Kaitou, whom he hoped were still in the room where he left them, Kurama's thoughts raced along with him. _The day after_ 'Kaa-san_'s forty-third birthday._

Unlike the past years, he had no present for her yet. But now was hardly the time to think of a fitting gift. Kurama had other, more pressing concerns at the moment.

_Why didn't Hiei see through the fraud right away? Did the impostor lull him into a false sense of security? But considering how… guarded… Hiei is, how did he…? The only way he could have accomplished this was to somehow convince Hiei that he was on_ his _side…_

He rifled through his memories and recalled those deep pricks and pockmarks around Hiei's neck and wrist. _Thorns… A Rose Whip. His enemy had pretended to be_ me.

Suddenly, another recent flashback flickered across his mind. Long strands of red hair. _Just like mine… And I saw it with my own eyes. Is she really the enemy after all? But what about the threats to her life?_

He clenched his right fist.

_Is this just one grand deception?_

_Is she really the enemy, but I just… refuse…?_

Then he felt it: the palm of his right hand was somewhat moist. He uncurled his fingers again and found several reddish brown stains on his skin. He held his hand up to his face. It smelled stale.

_Blood._ A frown crossed his face. _But I didn't touch Hiei's wounds…_

Just then, her voice echoed in his ears once again.

"_Don't open your locker! Get away from here! Let's both get out of here, now!"_

_Sou ka…!_ Green eyes widened. _She had grabbed my hand!_

He could see the Meiou entrance gates now.

She _was bleeding?_

Soon, another clue came back to him: When she had asked him to close his eyes and simply wait for Kaitou to fall prey to the curse of his own Taboo, she had guided him to the back of the classroom by holding his sleeve. Green eyes darted to his uniform. True enough, the hem of the fabric concealing his wrist revealed several bloody fingerprints on it as well. _Why…?_

He froze in his tracks.

_Why is everyone standing still?_

* * *

Kurama circled them all, studying each Meiou _Daigaku_ student frozen in suspended animation with narrow-eyed suspicion.

A cold bead of sweat trickled down Setsu's brow.

_He's back._ Blue eyes watched every dart of his eye, every turn of his heel. _Don't move, Mayonaka Setsuki._

The only man walking stopped before a lifelike, life-size statue of a brunette wearing a flower-printed skirt and a dark blue hairpin clipped high up her shoulder-length hair. "Kitajima!" Kurama carefully pried four pairs of female hands off Maya's arms and a dirty sock draped over her shoulder, mixed emotions registering on his face. "What's going on?"

The Meiou student with the ability and luxury of movement whirled around, scanning his surroundings for the answers to all his questions. Finally their eyes met. He strode towards her, his determination both in his walk and his eyes.

_Don't move,_ Setsu reminded herself. _No matter what you do. No matter what_ he _does._

* * *

"Drop the act, Mayonaka-_san_. I know this is all you."

His movements too fast for the naked human eye, Kurama swiped the lit cigarette from Akiho's hand. Green eyes gave Setsu a quick yet thorough once-over, searching for any burn marks in her clothes or skin.

_But I understand why you did this. If I could, I would have done the same thing._

He found no black blisters on her. But her hair was now messier than ever before. Her forelocks were flying up, as if they had been pulled up, almost uprooted. His gaze lowered to her left cheek, which was noticeably redder than her right.

His left hand inched towards that swollen left cheek just as his right took hers.

_Now, to check if you really_ are _bleeding…_

He was turning her right hand over now, so that her palm would face the sky. So that he would see it for himself.

* * *

_Know what, Minamino_-sempai_? I'm getting a little tired of you always thinking of me as the enemy._

She wanted to yank her hand away from his. To close her eyes. Anything. But she could not. He would fast figure out that she could move.

_Look around. I'm_ not _the enemy._

At that very moment, Akiho's once flying dark curls now cascaded down her shoulders and her back, once again conforming to the pull of _Ningenkai_ gravity. Countless spangling painted fingernails twitched. Pair upon pair of blank, lifeless eyes kindled back to life.

Everyone in the vicinity regained full consciousness to the sight of Kurama standing right in front of Setsu, one of his hands holding hers and the other seemingly just about to cup her cheek. Regardless of where each of them stood, all eyes on campus felt merciless green ones penetrating their very souls, that stabbing, all-seeing glare threatening to unleash upon them all the most brutal methods of slow, painful torture yet unknown to man.

Yet the first words to enter all their ears were the warmest, most concerned "What did they do to you?" they had ever heard.

* * *

The English Institute had been quiet for some time now. Too quiet. Kaitou and Nami could tell that they were the only two people left in the entire building. They had it all to themselves.

This was the longest holy moment they had spent together.

His head still resting on her lap, charcoal eyes hidden beneath thick-rimmed spectacles gazed admiringly straight ahead. Where was that radiant, bright white circle of light glowing behind her head coming from? No matter how many times the skeptical Kaitou blinked in disbelief, he just could not deny the presence of that resplendent, near sacred halo crowning her hair. It blinded him. It took his breath away.

Now he had a better idea of why Minamino's fangirls worshipped him like he was their god. They glorified their love for him like they would a religion.

Long ebony locks flowed past her shoulders, its ends brushing against his face and tickling his temples and ears. Nami swept her hair aside and flung the lot over her shoulder, her face a fiery red from a most painful shame.

"I'm really sorry, Kaitou-_san_!" Nami smiled at him in apology, the color in her cheeks deepening even more. "You must think I'm the dumbest girl in the world—"

"No. Not at all."

Disrupting her self-criticism came naturally to Kaitou. He did not even have to think twice about it. Something about this Akasaki Minaku had an effect on him. Had it been anyone else who had recognized his name but not his face, he would have taken him or her for a fool right away. He would have scoffed, thought lowly of him or her, perhaps even mocked the fool to his or her face. But this girl… What was it about her that… humbled… him? What was it about her that made him want to treat her with some secret, tacit… tenderness?

Was it the way she seemed to care for him from the moment they met?

Did she really? And did _he_ care for _her_? But how could he care for her this… soon? He knew little to nothing about her. He was rushing into this. Taking a leap of faith. Like in a religion.

Was this how love at first sight worked?

For all his life, love at first sight had always been a mere concept to him. It was not universal. It had never been applicable to him himself, and in all likelihood, it never would be.

So why did he seem to be wearing his heart on his sleeve _now_?

"I'm also sorry for what Setsu-_chan_ did to you," continued Nami, sincerity ringing in her melodious voice. "I'm sure she didn't mean to knock you down! Just give me time—I could talk to her about this—"

"No need." Kaitou pushed his glasses closer to his nose in an attempt to hide his own blush from her. "And no need to apologize. Especially not for Mayonaka-_kun_."

Her hazelnut eyes shone with curiosity. "What was going on between you two, anyway?"

"Ah, but this was of my own undoing." He closed his eyes, refusing to make contact with hers. "She had only reacted to what _I_ had done to _her_."

"I'm missing something here, but don't you dare hurt Setsu-_chan_, okay?"

His eyelids snapped back open. A small smile crept up his lips. He knew that she was serious, but that cute pout on her face was not even close to threatening at all. She had only managed to make herself look even more adorable than before.

"I must say, that Mayonaka-_kun_ must be rather important to you. You had been seeking her out since our first meeting. And she's all you ever talk about. With me, anyway."

"_Eeh_?" Nami blinked innocently. His observations had never dawned on her before. "I just had a bad feeling a few minutes ago. I don't know—I just felt like looking for her!"

"_That was right about the time she changed into you, I suppose._" Kaitou concluded to himself. The mere memory of her together with Minamino in his shimmering silver demon form sent a tingling chill—a chilling tingle—down his spine. They were simply too beautiful for words. And that just came from a published author!

"You know, Kaitou-_san_," Nami began, not waiting for him to respond. Kaitou waited with bated breath. This Nami girl was just so fascinating—she had neither airs nor pretenses, and she was quick to trust and make friends. It wasn't naïveté. He chose not to call it that. To him, it was sincerity. "She's almost like a sister to me. Since I don't see my _real_ sister anymore."

Had this been anyone else, Kaitou would not have cared in the least. But her sincerity seemed contagious. He felt inspired to treat her with just as much sincerity in return. "Where is she?"

Her forelocks fell across her face and hid her eyes from him. "You wouldn't want to hear all this."

"But I do." Kaitou insisted. "Tell me, is she…" His gaze fell. Now he knew that there was more to her than her blinding beauty, her sincerity, and her smile. In fact, her smile had now vanished. "… gone?"

"No, but fame swept her away."

Kaitou lifted his head off her lap and hoisted himself off the floor. He rose to his feet and reached a hand out towards Nami, helping her stand up as well.

"Tell me more." He motioned for them to transfer to the classroom chairs that Setsu had moved around, leading her to two seats facing each other. "If you please."

The two of them remained in that desk-cluttered room long, much longer than they would and should have on any other day. Both of them lost track of the time as Nami disclosed to him of her parents' divorce, her internationally famous superstar diva of a sister and her talent agent of a father abandoning her mother and her for the promise of a glamorous life in a faraway country, and all the grief that her broken home had brought upon her through the years. The college student by day, author by night found himself completely immersed in her story. Suddenly, even his bestselling novels paled in comparison to her real life.

"_She has reservations with becoming too emotionally attached to those who have made a name for themselves, such as her older sister,_" Kaitou jotted down in his mental notes. "_She prefers the company of those like Mayonaka_-kun_—low-key, reticent. She invests in relationships that endure through time._"

And without moving his lips at all, Kaitou swore to himself that no matter how wildly successful a novelist he could eventually become, he would not make the same mistake as her father and sister. He would never turn his back on her. He would never leave her behind.

* * *

"Minamino-_kun_!" Maya gasped in between parted fingers.

"Ohmigod." Akiho's jaw dropped and locked upon seeing Kurama's back merely inches away from her face. "Ohmigod—_ohmigod_—OHMIGOD!"

Even when all of them were free to move as they pleased now, they still did not. They remained frozen still. Voluntarily petrified. Most of them were stunned speechless. The best that the rest could do was stutter perfect nonsense.

Setsu quietly slipped her right hand out of his just as Maya exclaimed, "When did _you_ get here?"

A lump caught in Kurama's throat. Once again, Mayonaka-_san_ had backed him into a corner just when he least expected it. _I should have seen this coming!_ He mentally cursed himself for not knowing better by now. "Kitajima—"

"I came here to see you, Minamino-_kun_." Blinking back a hot, heavy tear forming at the corner of her eye, Maya cut him off in mid-sentence. "But not like this."

She could no longer face him. Her memory of him gazing upon that old photograph of Mayonaka-_chan_—and now seeing them together with her own eyes—and all the fangirl harassment she had endured for the longest time—all overwhelmed her at that moment. She was fast dissolving into sobs, and she could not stop herself.

"I'll come by at another time." She clapped her hands over her face and buried herself in her palms, hiding her shameful distress and distressful shame from him and everyone else. "I'm really, really sorry, Minamino-_kun_."

And in the heat of the moment, Maya turned her heels and ran, pushing past every fangirl in her path.

At a loss for words, Kurama debated with and against himself. _Do I follow her? Or—_

"Kitajima-_san_! I still have your—!"

Green eyes widened as Setsu tore in between Akiho and him, breaking into a mad dash after Maya, her right leg slightly limping after her left.

Suddenly, Kurama lost all reason to stay.

His feet chased after them on their own. They carried him past the campus gates all the way to the next four-way intersection. His eyes darted in all directions as more beads of sweat formed on his brow. All his running was getting to him now.

_Which way did they go?_

And everyone they had left behind remained in that dangerously potent Standstill spell that they had cast upon themselves.

* * *

"Hup!" heaved Yusuke, dumping a temporarily hibernating Hiei onto the wooden bench behind the counter of his ramen stand. The length of the bench was just about enough to accommodate the vertically challenged demon from head to toe. "Whoops-a-daisy!"

_He's not_ that _heavy, is he?_ Her hands clasped behind her back, Setsu stood right beside him yet out of his sight, chuckling to herself. _You just sounded like you unloaded an_ elephant _off your back._

Oblivious to the secret presence looming in his midst, Yusuke chafed his hands together the way schoolchildren did to get rid of chalk powder on their palms, as though carrying Hiei to his stall somehow dirtied them. "_There_ we go!" he chimed melodiously. "Now be a good boy, Hiei, an' don't disturb the chef while he's cookin'!" A wry snicker escaped his lips. "Listen t' me—" His hands planted on his hips, he repeated himself, shaking his head in disbelief. "—'Be a good boy'? Who am I, his _mom_?"

_Disturbing yet mildly amusing, the way that you crack yourself up._ Her eyes closed, Setsu sighed and massaged her temple. _But mostly disturbing._

Yusuke was stretching his hairnet atop his head to catch all the loose strands sticking out of his pompadour when Setsu squatted to level herself with the reclined Hiei. Suddenly, suspicious chocolate eyes darted to the sleeping form. "What was _that_?"

The invisible apparition froze every muscle in her body as an inspecting Yusuke bent down and closely eyed that pale body presently dead to the world. Not at all was he aware that with every inch closer he drew to Hiei, every inch the smaller the distance between his own face and an (extremely) uncomfortable Setsu's. Beads of sweat trickled down her intangible forehead. One more inch and Urameshi would be cheating on his fiancée without even knowing it.

_Come on, Urameshi,_ implored a mortified Setsu, her face a sour, awful, tense mess. _You're not supposed to know that I'm here—so don't make me hurt you…!_

Yusuke stopped and stood back up.

"That was weird," dismissed the ramen peddler with a casual shrug. He turned his back on his only companion(s) and attended to his stainless steel soup pots, all of which now needed serious reheating from being abandoned for too long.

_That was close._ Setsu sighed in relief just as her entire body relaxed once more, her squatting stance sinking to a full two-kneed kneel. A small sting announced itself the moment her right knee grazed the ground.

_Ugh. I'm pushing eighteen—uh, this body is, anyway—and I_ still _skin my knees._

She spotted several stains of blood among the specks of dirt on the knee area of her sweatpants. _What was I thinking? Was I even thinking? Even if it_ was _just one floor down… Must've been flipping out of my mind._

Blue eyes looked up at the ramen cook who seemed utterly ignorant of the fact that he whistled a carefree, happy tune as he worked. _You really can't see me,_ ne_? Must be because your_ ki _is a lot like_ his. _After all, you're both human-demon._

A calloused hand slowly reached towards an unconscious face and lingered above a _Jagan_ cracked half open. Setsu closed her own eyes.

Ne, aniki. _How have you been? Has he been taking good care of you?_

Image after flashing image bombarded her mind at ninety frames a second.

_Oh, no. How many wanted to pluck you out of him today?_

The final vision froze in her subconscious. A gasp escaped her lips.

Iie. _It_ couldn't _have been_ him. _He doesn't remember us._

A calloused hand dug into a school skirt pocket and took out a stuffed figurine of a white-haired, yellow-eyed man now also imperceptible to the mortal eye. Transparent blue eyes gazed upon two little pointed ears neatly stitched atop its hair-strewn head.

_He doesn't even remember me._

Setsu turned the tiny cell phone accessory to its side. The white-haired fox-man was missing his bushy white tail.

_It wasn't him,_ aniki. _Trust me. He was used as a disguise._ She held the invisible toy up to Hiei's forehead. _A mere accessory to the crime._

"Yusuke!"

She needed not turn her head around to know that Urameshi's fiancée had just arrived, and that Yusuke just staggered back in response to her arrival.

"_Keiko_!"

"Where have you _been_? I was here more than an hour ago, but I left because you didn't show up! How do you expect to make money if you're not around to attend to your business, huh? _Mattaku_!"

"But Keiko! I can explain!"

As an uneasy Yusuke stammered and retorted away, a smile crept up Setsu's lips. _Hn. Urameshi's really met his match—romance_ and _fight-wise._

She turned back to Hiei's third eye. _Mengo. I know that seeing them hurts you._ Calloused fingers twitched from the temptation of gently sweeping Hiei's spiky forelocks aside. But they never gave in.

Aniki, _I need to erase an afternoon's worth of memories from seven hundred and fifty-two minds. I also need to restore thirty-nine kilometers of dry land. And I don't think I can do all this. Not on my own._

She bowed her head before him and closed her eyes.

_Lend me your strength._ Onegaishimasu.

Yukimura Keiko sighed in hopeless exasperation. "Oh, Yusuke," she groaned, her hand on her cheek. "What will I do with you?"

A soothing warmth gradually flowing into her and filling her body, the mortal spirit stood up, eyes of a cloudless midday sky throwing an unforgiving glare across a now actually cloudless midday sky.

_Is it not enough for you that I can never earn his trust? What more do you want?_

Two invisible yet calloused hands clenched into tight fists.

_Don't you_ dare _take his form as your own again. Not while_ I'm _alive._

* * *

She was on her way up to her residential unit when she found him right there, leaning on the wall by her front door, his hands stuffed in his pants pockets.

"How…" She could not find her voice. "How did you get here before me…?"

"I want to apologize." Crimson forelocks hid green eyes. "I have been unfair to you all this time."

The brunette stopped dead in her tracks. She was already turning back when Kurama stepped away from the wall and took her by her wrist, his grip as light and gentle as a caress, yet strong and firm enough not to let her go.

"We need to talk."

She refused to face him.

"Some other time—"

"No. Now." Kurama tightened his hold on her hand. "I have cancelled my appointments. I am free for the rest of the day, as you are. I really would like to spend time alone with you. Just this once."

Her face fell.

Endless green eyes gazed upon that head of brown hair.

"Would you go out with me?"

_I've delayed this long enough._

_It's time for the truth._

**Continued**

Kaitou's soul is a really bright, almost neon, green. Or at least that's what I saw in the anime. ^^

Before I posted this chapter, **ShadowFireFox13** reminded me of a message that I've been thinking of giving to those who have added this fanfic to their _Favorites_, but _not_ their _Alerts_:  
I must confess, the intervals between my updates really vary—like the swivel of a pendulum, like bipolar mood swings, like Setsu's randomness. So far, I have been able to post two consecutive chapters after as fast as just one week, and after as slow as three months and four days. (*dodges rotten tomatoes* I know, I know. Sorry. But hey, in my defense, I had just survived a real-life major surgical operation back then. ^^;) So if you don't check your Favorite Stories page regularly, then I highly suggest that you _also_ add this fic to your _Story Alerts_—just so that FF dot Net will e-mail you the very day I post the most recent chapter of this fic. (FF dot Net doesn't send spam anyway, as far as I know.) But if you'd rather not receive e-mail from this website, and you _do_ have a reliable system of checking which of your favorite stories have updated—and it's more reliable than simply reading which titles have jumped to the top of the page—then carry on. Don't mind me. ^-^ Just making a friendly suggestion. ^^

P.S. As for those who are _alerted_ of when I update this, but did not include this fic in their favorites… That's all right. I don't mind it one bit. In fact, I think you deserve the opportunity to read the very end of this fic before you make a solid decision to add it or not. ^-^ And don't worry, guys—we're all getting there. ^^

Thank you for reading this far!

Looking for more? Here, have a sneak peek of Chapter 19! (I must warn you in advance, though—it may not be what you think! XD)

"Would you go out with me?"

Suddenly, the thunderous rumble of a two-stroke, two-wheeled engine erupted from the distance. Both of them listened to the approaching motorcycle in shared silence.

A most familiar slick blue Yamaha screeched to a stop several meters away from them. Kurama braced himself and took a long, deep breath. "It would be my pleasure, Ma—"

Kaname turned the ignition key and looked at them. What was going on?

"—yonaka-_san_."

P.P.S. A surprise awaits you next chapter! ^-^

**Japanese to English translations (Just the words introduced in this chapter)**

_**aniki**_. The author prefers not to disclose the meaning of this particular word for the sole purpose of preserving the mystery of this fanfic. The reader-reviewer is encouraged to deduce its definition from context clues, dropped hints, and translations of related words from previous chapters. ^-^  
_**Fuukan**_. _Seal ring_ (_fuu_ is translated as _seal_; _kan_ is translated as _ring_ and/or _jail_)  
_**fuzoku**_. _Technical school  
__**(Jaou Ensatsu) Kokuryuuha**_. Literally translated as _Tyrant King's Blaze Murdering Black Dragon Wave_, FUNimation translated this as _Dragon of the Darkness Flame_; Hiei's most powerful fighting technique  
_**kekkai**_. _Barrier  
__**Mafuukan**_. _Demon seal ring_ (_ma_ is translated as _demon_; this also applies to the word _Makai_); some YYH fans mistake this to be the name of Koenma's pacifier, but this is really the spell that the activated pacifier casts  
_**onegaishimasu**_. A very formal manner of saying _please_, more respectful than its simpler form _onegai  
__**Rei gan**_. _Spirit gun_; Urameshi Yusuke's signature fighting technique

For the other Japanese and YYH-exclusive words that I used in this chapter but excluded from this Glossary, please refer to the Glossary section of the previous chapters. But if I missed any other words that you need translated or explained, just tell me in the Reviews page. ^-^


	19. The Saboteur

**A/N  
**_Finally_, I have Internet access at my fingertips again~! *does the happiest dance I've ever done in my life*  
(Been posting the chapters of this fanfic in public hotspots, you see. Since Chapter 11.)

Just a heads up: _This_ now stands as the longest chapter of this fanfic. (And it shall remain that way. No future chapter shall be as long as this one… I hope.)

Warning: This chapter is _very_ dialogue-heavy. I tried cutting corners. I really tried. But it just went on and on and on. You'll know why once you read it. (Should you have any suggestions on how to trim it down to size, I would _love_ to hear them. Thanks in advance~)

Oh, and do feel free to glance at the palm of your hand several times while reading a certain part of this chapter. ^^

At the risk of sounding like a broken record… Happy reading! ^-^

* * *

And now, dedications are in order…

**loser94**-_san_: Thank you! Your support makes writing this worth my while, too! ^_^

**Pewter Queen**-_san_: Yay, marshmallows! XD I _love_ those! Thank you so much! You know, Chapter 18 was the first time I had chosen Kaname as a "lead" character of this fanfic from the YYH character drop-down menu—until now, I've always used either just Kurama or Kurama and Hiei. But wow, how attentive of you to notice. ^^ I truly appreciate your consistent reviews! ^-^

**LilyMoonstone**-_san_: Your username reminds me of the first mystery story I've ever read, _The Moonstone_ by Wilkie Collins. XD And the _Jagan_ _is_…! *grins meaningfully* But let's just keep that between us for now, shall we? ^^ More revelations to come in the next chapters!

**Lunalom**-_san_: Wow, long time no hear from you indeed! Of course I remember you! (In fact, the first words that came to my mind upon reading your review were "mantis shrimp demon." XD Then I had to go check if that was you, all right. *sweat-drops*) And I remember your keen eye, too. ^^ Should you spot any accidental slips of my fingers—or brain XD—please feel free to point them out! You are always welcome here. ^-^ I'm also glad to know you're still reading!

And **TeacupKitty**-_san_, to whom this chapter is dedicated _thrice_: Hi there! I don't mean to sound too forward or anything, but after just reading your reviews of all my YYH fanfics so far, I like you already. ^^ I'm impressed that you noticed the subtle Kaitou x Nami foreshadow in Chapter 14—even if Kaitou wasn't a major player in this fanfic yet at that time! ^^; He _is_ such a snob, isn't he? I have my fun writing him. XD

As for your criticism on the Japanese in this fic… Duly noted. ^-^ I'm now consciously trying to reduce my usage of it to the words that I've already used in previous chapters. Won't introduce many more new ones, as much as possible. And as for the "gasp" thing… *trying very hard not to gasp, myself* You're absolutely right! And don't worry—you weren't rude at all. ^^ Thank you for bringing that to my attention!

I just _love_ your character interpretation of Kurama. "Perfect pretty boy" with a dark side, all right. ^^ And I totally agree with you: Kurama is likable _because_ he's such a two-face. Had he remained the mother-loving, self-sacrificing pretty boy he was in the beginning of YYH, I myself would have just branded him as a classic case of Mary Sue and never snuck a glance his way again. XD

"It's like he's . . . some stuck-up royal lady who won't let anyone get close just because she thinks she's too important." Amen to that. ^-^ But the not-so-OC I'm writing, Setsu, seems to have a mind of her own: _she_ thinks he's stuck up, too, but for a different personal reason. You'll get to read more of _her_ take on him in this chapter. ^^ (I don't know why she and I agree to disagree, though. I may be writing her, but it's like _she_ likes him better than _I_ do. XD)

"Kurama'll always be my snooty little princess man." When I read this, I thought you had read my mind. XD Read on to find out why! And I… err… actually have more to say regarding your reviews, but I'll just PM you instead once I sort my thoughts. Thank you for everything! ^-^ Looking forward to hearing from you again!

A warm welcome to **Silverwing013**, **DeathAngel457**, , **bloodyshovel**, **pepperjam** (Are you **TeacupKitty**-_san_? ^^), **DarkScott**, **wreathdeathscythe**, **roseangelriz-green27**, **lilmeika**, and **patlegrand3**! I would just _love_ to hear from you, too! Please, send me a review sometime!

* * *

**19: The Saboteur  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **Prince Charmless  
**(Originally entitled _The Saboteur, Part 2_)

Green eyes dulled into gray. The elderly lady wrapped her dark, intricately woven veil around her face, leaving only her eyes, the deep-set crinkles above them, and the dry crows' feet below them in view.

The fortuneteller sat before her card table and studied her own wizened, grisly reflection in her crystal ball. From the contour of her cheekbones alone, even without seeing the rest of her face, no one would be able to deny that she was now a woman. She appeared to be in her late sixties or early seventies—a believable age for illustrious mediums and mystics. One glaringly big, hairy mole stood out from under her left eye, but it came with the total package. If she was to play the aged, she had to look the part, flaws and all.

But her hearing was perfect. She could even overhear her next customers whispering to each other while waiting behind her black, beaded curtains.

"It's so nice of you to agree to this, Minamino-_kun_! I'm sure your fortune will be interesting!"

"You have always wanted to explain the unexplainable, Kitajima."

"Enter," barked the old woman with aplomb, essaying her next new role with a grand wave of her shriveled hand.

It was show time.

* * *

Her grip tighter than a vise, the chiromancer held the fingers of his left hand perfectly still. A cold bead of sweat trickled down Kurama's forehead. The tip of her pointer finger was even colder. He resisted curling his fingers into a fist as the old psychic pressed against the arched line at the base of his left thumb. "You possess a 'family ring,' _okyaku-san_," she began in a hoarse, raspy voice typical of her ripe age. "An uncommon line. You are strongly attached to your family."

Then she traced the line of his left palm closest to his thumb, starting from in between his pointer and thumb curving all the way down to his wrist. "Now your lifeline, _okyaku-san_. Observe how it branches out into two just before touching your bracelet lines." A sharp black nail slid down to the deep lines around his wrist. "You have traveled far. You are a wanderer, a journeyman who returns home."

Chocolate eyes glazing in awe as she watched Kurama's palm being read, Maya held her breath in excitement, her fingers tingling and lightly touching her lips. "You know, Minamino-_kun_, contrary to popular belief, the lifeline of a person's hand doesn't actually say anything about how long the lifespan of that person is! It just shows the state of his physical vitality, meaning how much of a survivor he is!"

The experienced palmist nodded in agreement. "Your mind has grasped the human hand, _okyaku-san_."

Kurama turned to Maya, simply humoring her interest in the supernatural. "Where did you learn that, Kitajima?"

"I must have forgotten to tell you—" Maya explained proudly to her beloved. "—I'm now taking up Paranormal Science!"

_A fitting degree choice,_ mused Kurama. _You must be enjoying it._

The fortuneteller focused back on him. "Your lifeline, _okyaku-san_," she repeated, digging her pointed black nail into the same line on his palm for the second time. "One of the longest I have read. And these eyes have known skin of all colors from all races. You have won many wars and seen many years. Truly a survivor."

A most fascinated Maya ahhed as the palmist took her left hand in her own.

"As for _you_, _okyaku-san_, your heart line tells me much of you." The old lady now slid a bony, icy finger along the curved line on Maya's left palm closest to her middle, ring, and little fingers. "Observe how it begins high up your hand, from in between your pointer and middle fingers. You are a strong feeler of emotion. Your emotions rule you. Observe how it ends before your thumb begins. You are very expressive of your emotion. Observe its perfect curve. You are responsive. Very sensitive. Observe its exceptional length. You seek much affection from he whom you love." Dull gray eyes darted to Kurama. "You have lofty standards to meet, _okyaku-san_."

Kurama froze just as Maya blushed furiously. The air thickened with discomfort.

_She's one to assume, this woman._

"You have an uncommon line in your hand as well." The chiromancer stroked the deep-rooted line running from Maya's pinkie to her wrist. "An 'intuition line.' A very developed one. You possess a strong intuitive sense, and quite possibly psychic powers."

"Yes, I _can_ sense spirits!" exclaimed Maya, leaning closer in excitement. "You're good!"

"Ah, but it is not I. Your hand tells me all." Shadowy gray eyes bore straight into her soul. "Four hands exist, one for each element found in nature. Yours is the Water Hand—a hand known to possess a strong connection to spirits."

Eager chocolate eyes spoke for themselves. "_Tell me more!_"

"Water Hands have delicate, long palms; long, slim fingers enmeshed with fine lines. Again, you are very emotional. You have your insecurities. But you are intelligent, highly imaginative. You are curious of the worlds beyond your grasp. As for _you_, _okyaku-san_…" She took Kurama's hand in her own again. "Yours is an Earth Hand."

Green eyes narrowed. _Earth? Could she tell of my…?_

"A large, square palm; strong fingers. A very manly hand. Its lines are few in number, but deeply marked into your body." The palmist nodded to herself as she examined his hand once more. "You are the well-balanced type, quite an ideal. You are reliable, dependable, more intellectual than intuitive. But you are inert. You act slowly… deliberately. You possess a propensity to violence." At this point, Maya clapped her hands over her lips and gasped. "Be careful."

"Violence?" repeated Maya, eyeing Kurama worriedly. "But—"

"Fear not, _okyaku-san_. This violence defines the Fire Hand as well." The chiromancer went on. "The Fire Hand has a long palm and short, small fingers. The fire-handed one is very impulsive, more intuitive than intellectual. He is explosive. He is strong, silent, but he burns like a forest fire."

The Fire Hand secretly reminded Kurama of Hiei. _And to think he_ is _a fire demon…_

"You said there are four kinds of hands," Maya pointed out. "What is the fourth kind?"

"The Air Hand," supplied the old lady, still refusing to let go of Kurama's hand. "A square palm, like the Earth Hand. But longer, thinner fingers. An Air Hand is prone to be scarred very deeply. The air-handed one is both intellectual and intuitive, but intensely distrustful of his own emotions. He is quick-witted and eloquent. He is mostly truthful, but could easily become devious. A mysterious hand."

"I wonder who has an Air Hand…" murmured Maya to herself.

"Your hand, _okyaku-san_," the chiromancer turned back to Kurama's palm. "Observe the large fork in the middle of your palm. An interruption of energy—you have broken away from a private past."

A dark flicker crossed his face.

"Observe your chains, breaks, crosses, and forks. They whisper many stories. You are restless. You are in strain. The confusion of your perspective leads to your lack of peace of mind. Obstacles and a bitter loss lie ahead."

Maya gasped again. "That's _terrible_!"

"This line…" The palmist traced a line right below his pinkie. "You are a thief."

_Nani?_ Green eyes widened. A bead of sweat trickled down both Kurama's and Maya's brows.

"I… I don't understand…" Maya shook her head, her nerves also shaking her voice. Was the room getting darker? Stuffier? Why was it becoming harder and harder to breathe?

"You steal hearts. Your love is misfortune. Your love spells ill. Danger is attracted to your woman. Death covets her body."

Kurama remained silent.

Grim gray eyes fixed onto green. "I see I have confused you more. I now give you my condolences, and word of a good fortune."

"No. We've had enough." Maya eased Kurama's hand off the diviner's and headed for the exit, sweeping up the long, majestic curtains and strings of colorful beads blocking their way through the door.

"A wedding," bade the elderly lady from her armchair, gray eyes sullying into black. "Your fate awaits."

* * *

Giant slabs of concrete floated into the air and pieced back together, rebuilding the once devastated Gaikou _Fuzoku_. Needle-thin glass shards fitted back into broken windows and light bulbs, doors hung back onto their hinges, and dusty rubble cemented back into smooth, sturdy sheets of scaffolding and wall.

Setsu watched it all unfold before her, keeping one eye on the lookout for any chance passersby who could accidentally bear witness to the unbelievable renovation of the school that the _Kokuryuuha_ had destroyed. She circled the Gaikou campus grounds to survey for any other wreckages she might have missed, dragging her right leg around as if no one was watching her, because no one really was watching her—the entire school, as well as everyone who just happened to be standing on any road up to one kilometer away from it, was frozen in time.

This was the farthest-reaching _Teishi_ she had erected yet. A voice from the back of her mind told her to immobilize even that lone airplane hovering in the sky—so that its pilots and passengers would not behold the unexplainable phenomenon taking place hundreds of air miles below them—but she decided against it. A motionless plane up in the air could possibly catch the eyes of those on the ground whom she did not include in her Standstill spell.

"For how much longer must I be in charge of damage control? Of _your_ damage?" She spat towards the now crystal-clear sky and sighed to herself.

Helplessness gnawed at her like a rabid beast sinking its fangs into her already injured knee and biting relentlessly no matter how wildly she thrashed her leg. She knew who the true culprit was. She was also well aware that Kurama once again had her name on the top of his suspects list. But she remained trapped in her lifelong game of Taboo—she had to hold her tongue to preserve something that she was nowhere near willing to lose.

Just then, she heard the faintest rustle from the bushes behind her. Then a tiny meow.

Hn_? How did_ a cat _enter my shield?_

She whirled and found a white-furred kitten with one black ear and three blacker patches on its back, near the base of its tail—which she could not see because the young animal refused to come any closer to her and simply stayed under the shrub. "Oh. Hello," she chimed, her low, mellow tone more melodious than usual. "So, what do you think?" She jerked her head behind her, motioning towards the newly repaired college building. "Good as new? Well, as 'new' as it was before the _Kokuryuuha_ got to it…"

The sudden movement of her head sent the small creature retreating two paw steps back. Round, beady golden eyes stared back at her, wary yet willing to listen to more of her voice.

"_Ne_, you remind me of someone I used to play with a very long time ago." She laughed quietly to herself. _You have his eyes._ "He used to like it when I scratched him behind his ear. Would you like that, too?"

The baby cat meowed again, this time as if in protest. It snuck another two steps away from her, hiding itself in the leaves and crouching to avoid the twigs and spindles poking its shaggy fur.

_Yeah, he doesn't trust me that much, either._ A small smile curling her lips, Setsu took one light but long step towards the kitten and peered behind the hedges. "Oh, come on. I'm really no good at hide-and-seek, cat version." She could see its tail now. It was curly, like a spring, and black at its tip. "Has anyone ever told you of a _ningen_ superstition about your tail? _Ningen_ believe that cats with tails like yours are nicer and more affectionate than cats with straight tails. Is that true?"

She waited for it to mew again, but instead received a loud male shriek in response.

"_GAIKOU-NEKO!_ WHERE ARE YA?"

Blue eyes widened. _This guy just walked right into my—!_

Suddenly, every human heart within a one-kilometer diameter of Gaikou _Fuzoku_ began beating again. But not one single memory could recall the events of the past hour.

_My Standstill doesn't work on him!_

"_GAIKOU-NEKO!_" bellowed a tall, well-built figure peeking behind one bush after another. The college student with pompadour hair cupped his hand beside his mouth to amplify his voice even more than it already was, a fatherly worry written all over his face.

"That must be you, _ne_?" Setsu turned back to the kitten, bending her knees for her to get a better look at it. She propped her hands upon her knees, then winced—she had forgotten about her flesh wound. _So he was holding you before you entered my shield. That explains how his_ reiki _trickled into you as well…_ "So you're the official pet of this school. _Yoroshiku_, then." She nodded to the cat, a hurried urgency flickering in her eyes. "And _mengo_. I have to go—"

"_OI!_ YOU THERE!"

_Too late._ Setsu had just turned her back on the little feline when she had to stop dead in her tracks.

"Did'ja see a white cat around 'ere named—" Kuwabara halted in mid-sentence. The kitten he had been searching for had sprung to its feet and onto his leg. He caught the baby cat with both hands. "—_Gaikou-Neko_! I missed ya, y' li'l thing! Did'ja miss me, huh? Did'ja miss me?"

A most tender love pouring out of his otherwise scratchy voice, Kuwabara was halfway through cooing, "Awww! Ya _missed_ meeeee~!" when Setsu closed her eyes and turned her back on the man and his pet, an amused smile lingering on her lips. _A gentle giant and his cat. Always an endearing sight to see._

"_Oi!_ You there!" Kuwabara called after her again, trudging towards her retreating back with Gaikou-_Neko_ closely clasped in his arms. "Y' found Gaikou-_Neko_ for me! Thanks, man!"

Setsu shook her head without facing him. "_Iie_. _He_ found _me_."

"Wanna touch 'im?"

Her eyelids broke open. Setsu whirled behind her and found a closed-eyed, toothily grinning Kuwabara holding up the kitten's front right paw towards her.

"C'mon! He won't hurt'cha!" The carrot-haired softie snuggled his cheek against Gaikou-_Neko_'s warm, fuzzy stomach. "Not wit' these li'l itty-bitty claws, he can't!"

_Maybe he saw that it wouldn't go near me…_ A soft chuckle escaped Setsu's lips as she stepped closer to them despite herself and slowly raised her pointer finger to level with the feline's paw, touching the soft, velvety pad with cautious hesitation. _I like your friend,_ sempai. _He's a genuinely good person._

While the now happy-go-lucky cat lover watched the reserved brunette and his pet cat from school meeting "hands," it finally hit him.

"Hey, _yer_ Kurama's friend!"

"I am?" She blinked. _I know what you mean, but I don't believe_ that'_s the right word for me…_

"I _thought_ I saw that color o' uniform b'fore! It's Kurama's! What're ya doin' 'ere? This isn't yer school!"

_Careful, Kuwabara_-san. _You really shouldn't be referring to him by_ that _name with just anyone._

"Cutting class," said Setsu nonchalantly, as if nothing was wrong with her response. Blue eyes trained onto the infant he was now cradling to his chest. It was purring now—and Setsu recognized the low, guttural vibrations rumbling from its throat as trusting affection—and playfully clawing off the second button of Kuwabara's school shirt. Despite his beefy, broad-shouldered physique, the young animal felt so comfortable with him. And considering how he treated it, it occupied a soft spot in his heart as well. "Just like you, apparently."

"Yeah, I guess yer right." Kuwabara sweat-dropped, clapping a hand behind his head and laughing uneasily. With most of his attention on the heartwarming little tot in his hands, the recent calamity to have hit his campus seemed to have slipped his mind in the meantime.

_Good thing you're in that good a mood right now,_ Setsu told him only in her thoughts. _Frankly, I'm not in the mood to explain what I'm doing here, either._

"Speakin' of Kurama, he said he wanted t' talk to ya! He mus' be back in yer school by now!" The kitten was now sucking on his thumb. He did not mind the tiny baby tusks teething on his finger at all. "Did'ja guys talk yet?"

"_Iie_," she shook her head. _If he were here, he would have interrupted you by now. You're telling me too much._ "He's with someone else. I believe he's on a date."

Paying no attention to his sudden jaw drop and exaggerated screaming response, she took his distraction as an opportunity to leave. She looked over her shoulder as she walked away, one leg hobbling awkwardly after the other. "And now if you'll excuse me, I'm about to go to my own."

The moment she faced away from him, she whispered a secret command.

"Mindblur."

And for one minute, Kuwabara just stood there, following her with only his eyes while cuddling the school cat to his chest. That quiet little friend of Kurama's had a pretty smile. Not as pretty as Yukina-_san_'s, of course! But she had dimples.

She should smile more often.

Wait, what were they talking about again?

Huh?

Who was he talking to?

Was somebody here just now?

A dazed Kuwabara scratched his head then lifted the kitten up to his face, as though nothing untoward had ever transpired in or near his college campus in the past few hours. "Who's a good kitty? _Yer_ a good kitty! Yes, you _are_! _Yes—you—are!_ I'm gonna take ya home to Eikichi! And _you two_'re gonna be _reeeal_ good friends!"

Her hands clasped behind her back, a Setsu now stepping out of the Gaikou campus gates closed her eyes.

_Kuwabara Kazuma…_

_He could defeat us._

Even from outside his school, she could still hear the brawny animal lover cooing to his cat. "But Eikichi's a girl, so ya better be on yer _best_ behavior, y' hear?"

_I just hope his untapped potential doesn't fall into the wrong hands._

* * *

The accessory that she had sewn just for him—she could not find it anywhere!

"I might have left it inside…" Maya stopped fishing inside her purse and turned her heels back towards the fortuneteller's shop. "I'll be right back, Minamino-_kun_!"

She sprinted back inside before he could say a word.

And even before _she_ could, the aged mystic brushed her dark drapes aside with an even darker, knowing smile.

"I expected your return, _okyaku-san_."

Maya countered her welcome with a glare of both disappointment and disapproval.

"I don't like what you told Minamino-_kun_, ma'am! You might have hurt his feelings!" The unsatisfied customer pressed several yen bills onto the older woman's outstretched bony hand. "_This_ should cover both of us. I just want to know one more thing, and then I'm getting out of here!"

"You wish to learn your fate as well," predicted the fortuneteller. "It is but natural. I have not read it." She scooped up Maya's hand and examined it closely. "You desire for _his_ fate to be written in _your_ hand, do you not?"

"I…"

Maya's frown vanished. She could not go on.

* * *

She found his motorcycle parked on the grass by their usual riverbank. Several noticeable scratches now appeared along the paint of its gasoline tank.

_I thought I'd find you here._

Setsu quieted her steps, tempted to float over the grass altogether so that he would not hear her approaching. But she could no longer. Especially not after so many spells in just one day.

The seat of his jeans trampling upon several long blades of grass, Kaname tossed another small stone into the stream before him just as he felt a light finger digging between his shoulder blades.

_I. Never. Left. You. For. Meiou._

Gazing upon the ripple in the water where the pebble had fallen, Setsu silently sat on the ground behind him, her sweatpants sinking onto the grass, her skirt wrinkling by her folded legs. Her head hung low, she continued etching on his backbone with her pointer finger.

_In. Fact. Just. Now. I. Left. Meiou. For. You._

He knew who had ambushed him from behind. But he still did not turn around to face her. Yet.

"No matter where I stray…"

Raven forelocks hid lavender eyes. A smirk curled his lips.

"… you always manage to find me, don't you?"

Her head still hung low, Setsu was about to part her lips to speak when a gloved hand stretched out over her head from in front of her and caught her by her scalp. Kaname dipped his head low—careful not to reach the point of falling onto her lap—as he pushed hers down towards his.

His face now upturned, his chin up in the air, without warning Kaname closed the gap between their faces and ambushed her lips with an upside-down kiss.

* * *

"I'm really, really sorry, Minamino-_kun_!" Maya blurted loudly, everything about her tightening—her already tightly shut eyelids, her grip on the handbag on her lap, her resolve. "I didn't expect that fortuneteller to be so—"

"_Maa_, _maa_," Kurama lightly laughed it off, listening to his silver teaspoon clinking against his ceramic cup as he stirred his coffee. Peaceful green eyes watched the ribbon of steam escaping the swirling, creamy brown ripple. "_Ii yo_. All things considered, it was an interesting experience."

"You should have picked where we went next," Maya opened her eyes to the sight of a mouthwatering slice of strawberry cheesecake on her plate. "Are you sure you don't mind it here? It's okay if we go somewhere else…!" Her tone lilted, giving off the air of a question. Just as she always did even when they were much younger than today, she was encouraging him to communicate more openly to her.

Kurama closed his eyes and took it all in: the rich, heady aroma of percolating coffee soaking the air… the ever-repetitive chug and churn of roasting beans… the bubbling of the freshest batch of strong, dark brew… the smooth saxophone jazz playing softly in the background… Warm and cozy, indulging, decadent—the typical ambience of a coffee shop, where adults take a moment for themselves to step back from the stresses of work, study, and life in general, unwind with a cup of that bittersweet privilege of adulthood, and just enjoy the true luxury of doing nothing at all, even if only for the time it takes to finish a cup.

But unlike others, Maya's café of choice was not exclusively for adults. Bookshelves lined the walls yet unoccupied by coffee tables and parlors, and three particular rows of one of them boasted of literature just for children, ranging from storybooks of timeless classics to the most rudimentary beginners' guides to reading. Kurama opened his eyes again and found Maya and himself seated at the heart of the shop, squeezed between other couples huddling close and chatting away.

He did not really thrive in a lively environment elbow to elbow with like-minded people. He valued quiet and solitude, especially when he could not find them where he was. He would have preferred a seat in a more secluded corner of the shop, with good lighting and an even better book in his hand.

"I've never dined here before," confessed Kurama, sipping from his teacup. "Their coffee is delicious. You have good taste in cafés, Kitajima."

Maya's shoulders sank in quiet relief. Minamino-_kun_ had such a way with her. He could change her mood a full three-sixty degrees just by mellowing his voice. Warmth pouring from her own, she smiled at him in gratitude. "Thank you. You're a really nice person, Minamino-_kun_."

Green eyes gazed upon her upside-down reflection in his decaffeinated drink. _Kitajima…_ She scooped up a forkful of crust from her cheesecake, delightedly popped it into her mouth, and licked a graham cracker crumb off her cherry red lips. Never had Kurama seen a female face more filled with happiness. _Any man would want to protect you._

This was it. It was time.

"Kitajima," he began, bracing himself for the worst. "There's something I need to explain—"

"You're from another world."

Green eyes widened. Kurama carefully set his cup onto its saucer before his hand could possibly betray his growing discomfort within.

"I always _knew_ you were different from everyone else, Minamino-_kun_. I knew you were special." Her eyes arrested his. "And I want you to know I _never_ thought of that as a bad thing!"

Suddenly, the very first words that he had heard from her lips flooded back into his memory. "_There_ are_ other worlds aside from ours! And there_ is _life in them!_"

Before he could even part his lips to speak, Maya continued. "Are you from the world where the dead are judged? Or are you from…" she paused, struggling for the right words to say next. "… the 'other' world?"

"Kitajima," Kurama's voice was catching in his throat. All his sensibilities were actively resisting this. Under his skin, he was rebelling against himself. "How did you know of those worlds…?"

Maya took a deep breath, preparing to pour her heart out to him just for him to do the same with her.

"Many years ago, my brother and I went ghost-hunting in an old, abandoned house they said was haunted. No one had set foot in it for years." Her gaze fell to the strapped purse on her lap. "We discovered a trapdoor that led to a long staircase, which then led to an underground room. I thought I saw something move down there, so I went to see what it was. I counted my steps, but…"

_Her impulse to face risks is strong._ Kurama told himself._ Her fascination with the unknown is so powerful, she gambles her own life to confront it._

"… I never got to know how many steps it was to the bottom of the stairs."

An abrasive voice from the back of his mind haunted him. "_Danger is attracted to your woman._"

She shuddered from the mere memory of the dusty wooden planks beneath her feet suddenly giving way and the unspeakable horror of her five-foot fall. "My brother said I didn't wake up for days! But I wanted to sleep longer. That was the time I dreamt of it… where the dead go when they die."

_She lives in a dark world, where only a fine line divides simple thrill and actual fear._

"Your image of the afterlife…" His eyes distant, Kurama cupped his chin in thought. "… came from a dream?"

"It was no ordinary dream." Her eyes misted. "So many monsters… of different skin colors… most of them with horns… They were secretaries. They filed papers everywhere. There were documents, and folders, and file cabinets! It looked like an office!"

_She_ has _been to_ Reikai. _And lived to tell about it,_ concluded Kurama.

"It _is_ an office."

Maya held a curled hand over her heart, unsure of what next to say.

"I work for them."

* * *

Lavender eyes appreciated the sky. No longer was it bleeding. It was his favorite color again. Having her by his side simply made the Human World a more beautiful place.

Kaname turned his head to the side and saw it: a carnation pink jacket spread out behind his head, serving as a blanket as they lay upon the meadow.

Unusually fond lavender eyes looked past the pink coat and the long blades of grass that separated him from her. The crook of his arm was right there, available for her to sleep on—yet she did not. Her eyes closed, Setsu rested her head against her own forearm. She was curled up beside him, but not near enough to touch any part of his body—not even enough to lie down on her own jacket.

Loose, flyaway brown strands stuck out in all the wrong places, thin tendrils wilting by her ears. The bags under her eyes were dark, yet the rest of her face seemed pale. Her lips were chapped dry despite how he had just… moistened… them. Her sweatpants were caked with dirt, especially on one knee. She was a mess. She looked exhausted.

Did that Kurama do this to her?

Had she been using her _reiki_ to fight against him?

He took her right hand in his and uncurled her fingers. That long slash on her palm was back. And bleeding. In fact, never before had he seen it bleed this much. Considering that each of her spells took varying intensities of toll on her body, she must have pushed herself too far this time.

Heaving a sigh, Kaname let go of her hand and rose to his feet, taking her school coat with him. Just when he draped it over her body, her eyelids flew open.

Tsuki frustrated him. She just would not let him take care of her.

He said nothing and strode to his Yamaha. He ran a gloved finger against one particularly long scratch in its paintwork. A sharp twig must have scuffed his bike when he hid it among the bushes and eavesdropped on Kurama and his gang of misfits earlier that day.

"I know of a good way to get rid of that." Slipping into her Meiou coat once more, a heavy-eyed but fully awake Setsu walked up to him. She rubbed the grain from her eyes with her now sleeved wrist. "All it takes is a wax crayon, the kind that we used in our grade school art classes. It makes a pretty handy crack filler. The next time that you apply some polisher then buff over those scratches, you wouldn't even remember where they once were. If you want, I could bring my blue crayon with me next time—"

"Don't bother."

"_Hn_?" She arched an eyebrow in curiosity. "What, you'd rather have it repainted altogether? I could do that, too. I could paint it a different color if you like—"

"No. Leave it the way it is. I specifically chose a blue bike for two reasons."

Setsu blinked. "And what are they exactly?"

Kaname stared straight into her icy eyes.

"I'm looking at them right now."

A mischievous, meaningful smirk pulled the corners of his lips just when the answers dawned upon her.

Setsu closed her eyes and looked away, crossing her arms before her chest. "I don't buy that crap."

Kaname doubled up into shameless laughter. Their breakup lasted only two and a half days, but he had missed her and her pointless denial.

* * *

"_Eeeeehhh_?" Chocolate eyes widened. Maya could not believe her ears. Minamino-_kun_ was _actually_ baring the second, secret half of his double life to her now, after so, _so_ long! The thrill of it all tingled in her fingers. "But I thought you were working for your stepfather and studying—"

"I divide my time," explained Kurama, taking another sip of his coffee to calm his internal turmoil. "Working for the Spirit World has not been easy. But I get by."

"The _Spirit_ World…!" echoed Maya, a trembling awe taking her breath away. _That_ was the name of the world that everyone else called Heaven! "W-What do you do for them, Minamino-_kun_?"

"Simple detective tasks," Kurama understated, knowing fully well that the truth of the nature of his duties to _Reikai_ would worry her greatly. "I investigate the cases of those who should not be in _this_ world."

"Do you come here to capture dead people?"

"_Ii—Iiya_." He sweat-dropped as Botan, Hinageshi, and the other _shinigami_ of _Reikai_ crossed his mind. "Another division is in charge of that. Those I round up are still alive—" _At times not for much longer._ "—but running from the law."

"Like fugitives. Escaped convicts from another world!" gushed Maya, her eyes glittering and her arm flailing wildly at her side in thrilled excitement, as if no one else occupied the coffee shop but them. "You sound more like a policeman than a detective, Minamino-_kun_! But _that_ means you're always in dan—"

"I assure you, Kitajima, it's not as dangerous as it sounds." _Forgive me, Kitajima. But you're better off not knowing_ this _truth._

"Do you go undercover, Minamino-_kun_? You should!" insisted Maya, nodding. "You should shapeshift!—or alter your ectoplasmic composition at the molecular level!—or transfer to another soul vessel or host body!—so the ones you're chasing won't know who you really are and can't come after you!"

With every new suggestion she threw at him, the more he was relieved from her lack of knowledge of his true nature. _I am a_ youko_, Kitajima. You don't study my kind in your school._

Suddenly, a gasp burst from her lips.

"That other person I saw…!" She strained to recall that hauntingly beautiful white-haired, yellow-eyed man who suddenly took Minamino-_kun_'s place that time she kissed him in her apartment. "Was that…?"

"My disguise," lied Kurama between his teeth, having decided that he had already divulged enough _Reikai Tantei_ trade secrets for comfort. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. To be honest, I don't know why I changed form that time."

"Was it your way of protecting yourself… because… because…"

Brown forelocks fell over brown eyes. Mental rehearsal time was long past over. It was now or never!

"I… I—I'm sorry I kissed you, Minamino-_kun_! I won't do it again! I just did it because… because I thought…"

Kurama reached for the petite hand fisting a small cake fork from across the coffee table. A warm, gentle hand clapped over hers.

"I understand."

Listening to his sultry alto alone, Maya felt as though his fingers had lightly cupped her cheek and lifted her face up for him to see her better. He was so gentle. So, so gentle…

"You didn't give me a chance to explain. _She_ works for the Spirit World as well." _Mere speculation, but any alibi will do for now._ "Secret services. A member of the intelligence. I was merely curious as to how she has been posing as an ordinary human all this time."

"It sounds like she's a spy," guessed Maya, her face twisting uncomfortably from their subject. "_That_ must be why I saw _her_ in disguise, too!"

"_Nani_?" Kurama leaned forward, suddenly at a loss for words. He wanted her eyewitness account, and he wanted it _now_.

"Just earlier today…" Maya regarded him with reservation. His eyes were not as distant and disinterested as she had always known them to be. They were now dilated, almost… desirous. Was Minamino-_kun_ getting a little… excited? It couldn't be. He had only just admitted to her that Mayonaka-_chan_ did not interest him in _that_ way!

"She looked just like you!"

* * *

"_Mengo_, Ame-_kun_."

A small smile lighting her face, Setsu looked at him over her shoulder. "I have a lot on my mind right now. I really would appreciate some time alone."

"Where are you going?" demanded a disapproving Kaname. "I could take you there then get out of your hair—"

That smile on her face grew sweeter… shyer… sadder.

"Thank you. But you don't have to."

Her once bloodied wrist slipped off his gloved grip.

Kaname could tell—something was wrong with the way Tsuki moved. Was one of her legs busted or something?

But he could only watch her walk away.

* * *

They came to the steps of her apartment.

"I'm always really happy when you walk me home, Minamino-_kun_! I just…" A visibly self-conscious Maya tugged the carrying strap of her purse back up onto her shoulder. "… wanted you to know that."

But Kurama was lost in thought.

_She appeared in a different form before Kitajima, just as she did to me… If she's truly in danger, then why did she involve Kitajima in all this…?_

A shadow crossed green eyes.

_It makes more sense if she were the enemy._

"So," Maya gripped the shoulder strap of her bag nervously. "I was thinking we could get together again sometime… I—I know how busy you are, a-and I won't take you to a fortuneteller anymore! Just…" Desperation squeaked her voice. She closed her eyes and bowed her head before him. "We could do this again whenever you want! So would you…"

_I won't involve you, Kitajima. Your life has been in danger too many times before._ Crimson forelocks hid green eyes. _And once, because of me._

"Would you go out with me?"

_I won't let you gamble your own life again._

Suddenly, the thunderous rumble of a two-stroke, two-wheeled engine erupted from the distance. Both of them listened to the approaching motorcycle in shared silence.

_It's easier this way._

Kurama braced himself and took a long, deep breath. "It would be my honor, Ma—"

A most familiar slick blue Yamaha interrupted him by screeching to a stop several meters away. Kaname turned the ignition key as excited thoughts raced across Maya's mind. Was she and Minamino-_kun_ finally—finally—finally!—officially dating at long, long last? Did he finally—finally—finally!—feel close enough to her to call her by her given name?

Kurama closed his eyes and rolled his hands into fists, his nails digging deep crescents into his palms.

_It's easier if you hate me._

"—yonaka-_san_."

* * *

Blue eyes widened.

"_Haha_, did you…"

A calloused hand pressed against the gnarly, battered trunk of the old wisteria tree beside her human mother's grave. Her forelocks hiding her eyes, Setsu hung her head low before the stone in the sand.

"… hear that…?"

A sudden wispy, chilly breeze whispered a wordless reply.

She jammed her free hand into her skirt pocket and felt the stuffed fox-man figurine inside.

"Something tells me that she wouldn't want to give this to him _now_."

* * *

What?

Both Maya's gaze and shoulders sank. In the farthest, most unfathomable depths of her memories, he had already rejected her once before. Or maybe, just maybe, it was all in her mind's eye, playing and replaying this fateful moment since she first met him in junior high, yet her heart was still infinitely unprepared for it. Much as she had expected the well-mannered but uninterested Minamino Shuuichi to reject her in the form of an apology, this was far worse… crueler. The name stung. It pained much, much more than just her ears.

Did Minamino-_kun_ not hear what had just dropped from his lips? Did he not notice what was just… plain… wrong… with it? Did he not remember her name? Did his tongue slip?

Kaname had just swung his leg over his bike when Maya looked up again and squared her shoulders, her face glowing more brightly than ever before. To her, braving through this moment required more courage than telling the scariest story, hunting for the spookiest ghosts in the most spine-chillingly haunted mansion, and embarking on the most death-defying adventure of her lifetime all together.

"I look forward to it."

An unspoken, unspeakable sorrow now quieted what was once so melodious a voice. Green eyes refused to watch her climb the stairs.

"_Ane_." At that moment, Kaname recalled the accident from her early childhood that became the root of her anxiety with staircases and, albeit he had become her stepbrother years after the incident, took the opportunity to ease her fear. Oblivious to what was going on between the two, Kaname sped past Kurama and followed Maya up the staircase leading to their apartment unit. A hand in a black biker's glove grabbed hold of her arm. "You all right?"

"Of course!" Her smile was crooked. Broken. Like something else that belonged to her. "I just spent the whole afternoon with Minamino-_kun_!"

A shadow eclipsing his face, Kurama sighed and turned his heels to leave, green eyes noting the direction to which the blue motorbike was pointing. He headed the other way.

* * *

He paid a visit to her mother's grave, but she was not there. Neither was she in her Butterfly Cove. His next wild guess was the playground of the Yukimi City Park, where they first met.

And true enough, there she was, seated on one end of the rainbow-colored seesaw.

"Do flowers eat, too?" asked a little girl of around six sitting on the other end. She happily popped a reddish-purple octopus ball sprinkled with seaweed laver into her mouth, licking her lips in contentment. "Mmm!"

Setsu kept her legs perfectly still and her feet firmly planted on the ground to steady the pivoting wooden board, ensuring that the teeter-totter would not suddenly tilt off-balance and that the girl would not fall off. A small smile curled her lips. Her young companion was having so much fun eating with her legs dangling high up in the air.

"_Aa_. But they don't eat the food that we eat." Kurama overheard his classmate say. Her voice sounded higher than it usually did, but mellower. Subdued, soothing… the way a human mother cooed as she rocked the cradle of her first-born.

"They don't like octopus balls?" The inquisitive child blinked in disbelief. Never in her life had she met anyone who didn't share her fondness for her favorite snack.

Setsu shook her head, her smile never leaving her face. "They've never tried it. They don't have to. They make their own food."

"They do? Neat!" Her disagreement didn't bother her playmate in the least. The kid raised her fork to her lips again and chomped another seafood ball off its tines. "How about juice?" She held up her paper juice box and took a sip off its thin white plastic straw before speaking up again. "Do they like orange juice?"

"Not as much as they like water," Setsu shook her head.

"But water's _boring_! Orange juice tastes better!"

"Yes, it does. But if you pour any sweet-tasting drink—like orange juice—on them, the thirsty ants living near them will notice and crawl all over them, because the ants want the sweet juice for themselves." Blue eyes glanced at a nearby anthill in the sand. "And it's a yucky feeling to have ants crawling all over you, _ne_?"

"Yeah!" The now disgusted kid stuck out a reddish purple-coated tongue, stained slightly orange at the tip. "That's really yucky!"

"Flowers feel that way, too." Blue eyes wandered to the nearby park fountain. "And _that_'s why they like water better."

"I'll give them water, then!"

Without warning, the little girl leapt off the seesaw—sending Setsu's side of the wooden plank crashing down onto the sand with a jolting thud—and raced towards the fountain, her now-empty bag of octopus balls and her fork in her hands. Sighing to herself and gingerly dusting sand grains off the seat of her skirt and sweatpants, Setsu rose from the teeter-totter herself and followed the child, who had already scooped up a bagful of water and was emptying the entire container onto just one daisy.

The flower drooped right away.

"Oh, no!" The budding gardener gasped in shock. "I _killed_ it! But I didn't mean to…!" Tears welled up in her eyes. "Does this mean I'm bad…?" She choked back a sob.

"_Iie_. Don't worry. You don't have to feel bad—you didn't do anything wrong." Setsu leaned closer and clapped a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. "When you're full from eating a lot, _you_ sometimes feel heavier than before, _ne_? That's exactly what happened to this flower. It's so full now, it can't carry itself as well as it used to. It just drank too much too fast. But it will be just fine again a little later. You'll see."

The guilt-ridden girl wiped her dripping eyes and nostrils with the backs of her palms. "I just wanted to give it something to drink, because it looked so dry! I thought it was really thirsty! And I want to make its other flower friends drink too, but _this_ might happen again…!"

"May I borrow these?" Setsu motioned to her companion's plastic bag and fork. Once the girl nodded—in between soft sniffles—the teenager dipped the bag into the park fountain a second time and held it over an entire bed of daisies close by them. "I suggest that you do _this_ next time."

As carefully as she could, she punched a set of holes on the bottom of the bag with the tines of the fork. A light shower of water drizzled over the flowerbed right away. "This way, the flowers won't receive more water than they can drink, and you'll get to water more of them at the same time. See?"

"_Un_!" The child's face brightened at once. "That's really neat!" Now beaming widely, she clapped her hands in delighted approval until Setsu handed the bag back to her.

"Here you go. _You_ try."

The girl giggled as she spun around and around and around, sprinkling on everything around her. Including Setsu.

"Ah, I'm getting wet!" Holding a hand up before her face, the older girl pretended to groan in a blithe, playful tone most uncharacteristic of her as droplets smelling of octopus and seaweed splashed onto her cheeks and glistened against the sunlight. "I already bathed this morning, you know…!"

"It's just water, you crybaby!" retorted the now cheerful child, shamelessly laughing at her newfound friend. She now felt more mature than she did mere moments ago. Her companion might be taller and older than she was, but she herself felt bigger.

His hands stuffed into his pants pockets, a Kurama hiding three trees and a shrub away closed his eyes.

* * *

Maya buried her face deeper into her bed pillow. It was disgusting. How big, fat, and unstoppable her tears were. How hot they felt rolling down her cheeks, yet how wet they felt staining and spreading all over her pillowcase. How her own eyes could also feel so hot yet so wet. How bloodshot red they grew after a mere minute of self-pity. How red the rest of her face grew after one more. How her fingers just would not stop fisting her pillow, innocent as it was.

How she could neither hide nor control her pain.

"I have to stop…" she murmured into her pillow, plunging herself deeper and deeper into that comforting tender cloud and suffocating herself; muffling the ugliest, most disgusting voice her ears had ever heard. Silence. All she wanted was sweet, impossible silence. "I want to stop…"

Lavender eyes gazed down upon the miserable, vulnerable girl lying on her stomach in inconsolable despair, her shoulders violently wracking with sobs, her ankles twisting and writhing together, her legs thrashing up in the air once, only to slowly come down and lay still on her bed.

Did that Kurama do this to her?

"Make it stop…" she demanded of her pillow. But it only budged to the clenching of her hands.

Taking care not to place his weight anywhere on her, Kaname sat upon her bed, slowly sliding beside her right arm.

He would wait there until she insisted to be left alone.

But she never did.

* * *

"_Bai-bai_, Setsu-_'nee-chaaan_!" The little girl flailed her arms farewell from the window of the second floor of the townhouse Setsu had just turned her back on. "_Bai-baaai_!"

Still slightly dragging her right leg behind her left, Setsu looked over her shoulder and grinned at her playmate one last time. Only when she had walked further away from the girl's home did her smile vanish, dimples and all. Blue eyes narrowed and darted to the next tree in her path.

"You can come out now," she spat with cold certainty to the tree leaves rustling from the wind.

_Our time for pleasantries is over, I see._ Drawing a sigh, Kurama stepped out of the shadows, crimson wisps billowing with the dry autumn breeze.

"In fact, you _could_ have come out earlier," continued Setsu in that harsh, hardened tone that she never even once used on the child—just on him. "I would have introduced you to her properly."

"I didn't want to intrude," said Kurama calmly, his eyes closed and his hands stuffed in his pants pockets.

"She could tell that you were following us. I had to convince her that you weren't some creepy pedophile or stalker."

"_Sumanai_," Kurama sweat-dropped. "Did I trouble you that much?"

"_Iie_. It was amusing, in a way," Setsu suddenly chuckled to herself. Something seemed to linger on her mind, though. "She said you were a 'pretty' stalker. You should be flattered."

Kurama laughed lightly, more sweat-drops forming all over his head. _Well, "pedophile" would have been worse…_

"So," Setsu clasped her hands together behind her back, matching his strides. "How was your date with Kitajima-_san_? Did you have fun?"

"It was…" _I should have seen_ this one _coming._ "… interesting."

"That's not what I was asking." She was being her brutally frank self again, and preparing to drop bombshells all over him. "And _that_'s the buzzword that most people abuse when they either don't _want_ to describe something, or when they don't know _how_ to describe it." Her gaze fell to the pebbled asphalt ground. "So I take it things didn't go so well. Did _she_ have fun, at least?"

He fell silent, contemplating his words.

"Can't say that she did, huh?" She shook her head in exasperation. "_Sempai_, did the whole thing blow up on your face or something? I'm almost getting the idea that something horribly wrong happened."

"We went to a fortuneteller," began Kurama, choosing his facts carefully.

"Ah," Setsu looked up at the shadowing sky. Swollen clouds were about to cry. "The fortuneteller. The most incorrect job title I know."

"Incorrect?" Curious green eyes turned to her.

"Let's face it," she shrugged. "So many of them specialize in selling negativity. They have a habit of breaking only bad news and ill omens to their clients. Sometimes I believe they should be called '_mis_fortune tellers' instead."

_Misfortune tellers…_ Kurama repeated after her in his mind. The elderly psychic stained his mind again.

"_Your love is misfortune. Your love spells ill. Danger is attracted to your woman. Death covets her body._"

… _How true._

"Whatever their crystal balls or tarot cards told you, don't take them too seriously." Setsu brushed his distress aside as though she were warding off imaginary evil spirits floating around them. "Everything happens for a reason. Including bad things."

"No crystal balls or cards," Kurama pressed his lips together awhile, still weighing his words. "She read our palms."

"Same difference," Setsu tilted her head to the side, dismissing the notion altogether. "I wouldn't mind it, if I were you. I don't believe that the lines of one's hand could ever predict one's future. Look at it this way, _onegai_. Even the handicapped who _don't have_ hands _still_ have a future, _ne_?"

They shared a long, pensive silence.

_Nothing fazes this_ ningen. He closed his eyes._ While the supernatural fascinates Kitajima to the point of peril,_ she _thinks nothing of it._

A small smile curled his lips.

_They're really not the same._

"_Sempai_, you _still_ haven't told me what's bothering you," Setsu pointed out, a frown crossing her face. "Now you don't have to talk about it if you really don't want to, but I suggest that you do. Talking it out helps."

Just then, she raised her fist to her lips and cleared her throat into it. Kurama saw her parting her lips, but the voice that spilled out of them was not at all her own.

"You know, you can tell me anything, Minamino-_kun_!"

Green eyes widened. _She sounds…_

"I'm ready!" continued an unusually effervescent Setsu, forcing her typically serene tone to escalate into a very familiar soprano. "I'm listening!"

… _just like Kitajima…!_

What was she trying to do—a stand-up impression of Kitajima? Was this her idea of taunting him to her? "Ma-Mayonaka-_san_—"

"Oh, no." Her voice was back to normal now. No. It was taken aback. Just like her eyes. She clapped a hand onto her own forehead. "Don't. Tell. Me." Her head began to shake. "Don't tell me you _actually_ called her—"

Widened, scandalized blue eyes stared into just as wide-eyed green.

_How_ do _you jump to your conclu—_

Suddenly, her left hand swung up, her palm going right for his face.

* * *

He did not move a muscle.

That calloused left palm stopped a mere sliver of space away from his cheek.

"_Iie_."

Setsu drew her hand away from his jaw slowly, reluctantly, fighting back her near-irresistible urge to slap him. _Know your place, Mayonaka Setsuki. Don't let your temper get the better of you._

"_She_ deserves to get back at you. _I_ don't."

_I know what happened between you two, you heartbreaker. I can see how it happened—through your eyes_ and _hers._

_And I'm sorry for having to pretend to find out this way._

_But I also know that you're not the Urameshi type—I need not knock some sense into you with my bare hands. You're more diplomatic than that._

_Much as I disapprove of what you did, you_ still _deserve to talk this out._

She shook her head to herself. "Seriously, something is very wrong with this picture. One: Just now, were you about to let me hit you? And two: Were you about to let me hit you because what I said was…" Her frown deepened. "… true…?"

Crimson forelocks hiding green eyes, Kurama's face turned a darker shade of black. Shadowed… unreadable.

His (lack of) expression boiled her blood. Even now, he was the picture of cold, calculating calm, erecting wall upon wall of defense too high and impenetrable for her to scale. _Even if I lash at you, I know—or maybe I just trust—that you won't hurt me. But you want to escape this—one way or another._

_Would you try to leave?_

_Or deceive…?_

_After all, if you still can't bring yourself to reveal your truth to the woman you love the most, then you remain capable of lying to me and to everyone else._

"_Sempai_, I was waiting for you to defend yourself—to stop me—to say I was wrong," she insisted hotly. She felt like seizing him by his shoulders and giving him a good, firm shake or two. Or five. "But you didn't. I got the truth from you at that moment, so don't even _think_ of lying to me now."

He stayed silent.

"Well?"

Green eyes finally emerged into her view.

"You seem more interested to hear _her_ side of the story."

"Of course I feel bad for Kitajima-_san_." Setsu looked up at the tearful clouds seemingly about to mourn for Maya. "From a mere glance, I could tell just how much she values you. But she doesn't need me to feel bad for her—my feeling won't help her in any way. What I _can_ do for her—" she faced him squarely. "—is to straighten things out with _you_."

* * *

He watched her hand slowly fall to her side.

_An Air Hand._

For several minutes, Kurama remained silent.

_But I can see right through you, Mayonaka_-san. He cursed her inwardly, yet held on to the façade that betrayed nothing from his within. _This isn't really about Kitajima. You're using her as a diversion._

_You mean to distract me._

He rolled his hands, still stuffed into his pants pockets, into fists.

She had already tricked him this way once before—taking his attention away from her and her secrets by digging into _his_ life. They were in her secret Butterfly Cove back then. Somehow she had gotten him to share his then-plan for the future—pursuing one English class in college—and his confidential apprehension in confronting Shiori about the matter.

_You always turn the tables on me._

* * *

Setsu clasped her hands together behind her back to avoid clenching them into fists. "You did it on purpose, _ne_?" She bit her lip before continuing. "I know that you had your reasons, but I don't know what they are. Tell me, _onegai_," she pressed on. "I want to understand you, _sempai_. But I can't always understand you on my own."

_I don't intend to bite your head off. I'm not here to scold or outsmart you. This isn't about gaining the upper hand._

_I just want you to grow as a person._

"If you have a problem, I want to do something about it. But I can't do something about it until you share it with me."

_There_ is _still room for you for grow, my young Shaper._

* * *

"_I want to understand you,_ sempai. _But I can't always understand you on my own._"

_Just when I'm convinced of something about you… that you can read me…_

His face fell.

… _you refute me._

"I can't see through you, Minamino-_sempai_."

He refused to look up at that soothed, inviting voice… that dimpled smile that seemed to light up that tired face despite the sun now hiding beyond shadowed clouds.

"But I do want to see you through."

_The way you weave your words…_

Kurama sighed.

_You've tricked me again._

"You once asked me if I had hurt her before."

Setsu stopped for a split second. He had finally spoken up. "_Aa_. I remember that."

"I have," he confessed under his breath. _How many times have I betrayed myself today?_ "I had let her down…"

"Just when she admitted her feelings for you," finished Setsu. "Am I right?"

He swallowed a lump back down his throat. This conversation discomforted him. Despite every wrong he had already done to her, he had objections to disclosing of Kitajima's most personal feelings.

And to revealing his own.

"I understand. You don't have to dig deeper into that," murmured Setsu, her voice more peaceful than usual. "_Her_ business is hers to tell, not yours. What I _would_ like to know—and hope that you would share with me—is about _yourself_. Why do _you_ like Kitajima-_san_ enough to entertain her feelings for you, yet keep her at arm's length…? _Iie_. Why do you push her away…?"

Finally he met her eyes. _What is it about you…_

"Why do you seem to be avoiding a more intimate relationship with her?"

… _that I just can't refuse?_

"She shouldn't be with me. She'll only put her life in danger."

"Yeah, I noticed."

Kurama froze. This was not the reaction he had expected at all.

"Let's face it," Setsu laughed lightly. "You're not exactly the safest person for _any_ girl to hang around with." The events of the past few hours resurfaced in both their minds. His fangirls had mercilessly bullied both her and Kitajima, and it was safe to assume that this was entirely because of him. "But she _wants_ to, despite all the risks that she'll have to take. So if _she_ is willing to subject herself to those risks just to get closer to you and possibly become more than just your friend, then why aren't _you_ supportive of her willingness?"

Another memory harped back to Kurama.

"_You kidnapped a girl today. Where is she?"_

"_Oh, you know her? I'll give you a clue."_

_Yatsude proudly held up a small human foot by its big toe. It was torn at—and dripping fresh blood from—the knee. "What's this?"_

Even until now, the hairs on his head still felt like they were standing on end. _If she is ever abducted again…_ He turned back to Setsu. "Mayonaka-_san_, troublesome as they are, our classmates are not my only concern—"

"Is something about Kitajima-_san_ _herself_ stopping you, _sempai_?"

Maya's voice echoed in his ears.

"_I never got to know how many steps it was to the bottom of the stairs._"

"Kitajima is quite the adventurer," reasoned Kurama slowly, uneasily. "But every adventure involves an element of danger…"

"Yet it could be the thrill of that very danger that lures her to adventure in the first place, _ne_?"

At this point, his own thought crossed his mind: _She lives in a dark world, where only a fine line divides simple thrill and actual fear._

"She does strike me as a thrill-seeker," nodded Setsu. "The curious heroine who walked through that darkened doorway simply because she didn't know any better. She's the type to whom I'd personally want to yell, 'Don't go in there!' or something like that."

_She has had encounters that left her with buried memories, psychological scars, and a disappointment I thought she had forgotten._ Kurama cupped his chin in thought._ But her memories are not so easily erased, and the experiences I tried to make her forget linger for longer than I expect._

_Being with me could open up unhealed wounds._

A raspy voice from the back of his mind spoke up. "_Danger is attracted to your woman._"

_I had gone into the forest and rescued her from the quicksand before the_ tengu _in Mount Kurama could take her… I had found her before Yatsude had devoured her alive…_

_But I was not at the top of the staircase to call out her name and tell her not to go all the way down._

_I was not even with her when the Hedoki captured her to offer to Yatsude…!_

"I'm sure no one has ever told you this, Minamino-_sempai_, but—"

_I can't always be around to save her._

"—you suck with women."

A gasp caught in his throat. The dry autumn wind tore a crisp, shriveled brown leaf from its tree stalk and blew it between them.

"_Mengo_, _sempai_, but I believe you need to be told," Setsu admitted with a chuckle. "You just really suck with women."

_You're not being random now, are you…?_

"Sure, you're not a playboy. Far from it. Any woman would appreciate that. Heck, she would _love_ you for it." Setsu smiled casually, sheepishly, but he knew she was more serious than she looked. "But the way you interact with women leaves some room for improvement. You sabotage your own chances at romance. _Iie_. On a deeper level, you sabotage your relationships with women in general!"

A frown crossed Kurama's face. "Mayonaka-_san_, I—"

"And it's not just Kitajima-_san_. How many times have you kept the truth from your own mother and thus broken _her_ heart?"

At that moment, Shiori's discovery of his personal memento from his tournament fight with Karasu came back to him. His _'Kaa-san_ and Mayonaka-_san_ had seen the torn, bloodied cloth together. That would explain what Mayonaka-_san_ just said. He knew she was bound to open that can of worms sometime, and apparently that was now.

"How _did_ you become so popular with the ladies, anyway? Seems to me you want them to _hate_ you."

He kept quiet. _Sometimes you remind me of Hiei. But_ he _keeps it simple—he would just call me a fool._

"You want to protect them, but in your effort to protect them, _you_ hurt them _yourself_."

Setsu knew that her words were unkind, to say the least. But it was time for _someone_ to enlighten Minamino Shuuichi on what he had been doing horribly wrong for years.

"Let's see how your logic with Kitajima-_san_ goes, then. I get it—being around you has threatening consequences. So you rejected her 'for her own good'," she raised both her pointer and middle fingers and curled them to gesture air quotes. "Ultimately, for her physical safety. You don't want her physically hurt. You seemed to have _her_ in mind when you rejected her once in the past and again today. But tell me, _sempai_—" Blue eyes captured green and refused to let go. "She did _not_ get _physically_ hurt in those two instances. But she _still_ got hurt, _ne_? In another way: _emotionally_. I'm sorry to say this, but _you_ had hurt her."

He still stayed silent, letting everything sink in.

"In your interest to protect her from someone who could hurt her because of you, _you yourself_ had hurt her. You can argue with me that physical and emotional hurts are different from each other. Not to a woman, _sempai_. And _that_ is why I said that you suck with women. No woman will ever be convinced that 'you rejected her for her own good,' because if you were _really_ after 'her own good,' you would _not_ have rejected her in the first place. You would have valued _her feelings_ over all else."

Kurama stared at the shamelessly nagging chatterbox striding alongside him, finding no answer to the question that had also been nagging his mind since he and Kitajima talked about her over coffee and cake earlier that day:

_What have you become?_

"It's thoughtful of you to want to ensure a woman's safety. But you must be even more careful with her sensitivity. You don't have to be a Casanova around women, _sempai_. Just be considerate of their feelings."

_My distraction?_

"Now, whatever it is you're hiding from Shiori-_'ba-san_ is really none of my business, but again, I believe you need to be told: Your secret _could_ possibly hurt her. But your _keeping it from her_…"

_Preoccupation?_

She shook her head to herself.

"… already _does_."

Kurama closed his eyes.

_Confidant?_

"Feel free to disagree with me on this, but I believe that the reason you sabotage your own relationships with others all boils down to the basic fact that, well, you don't like yourself very much."

She still was the same Mayonaka Setsuki he met that day.

"_You are loved, Minamino_-sempai. _You should learn to love yourself, too._"

"You seem distant from even the ones you love because you're not that much in touch with _yourself_, either."

In his mind, the fortuneteller's words overlapped with hers. "_An interruption of energy—you have broken away from a private past._"

"The trouble with you, Minamino-_sempai_, is that you're too selfless. And _iie_, not in a good way. You value yourself a lot less than you should. You have a disturbingly defeatist attitude about you: you'd willingly give something up—like whatever feelings you had or have towards Kitajima-_san_, for example—if it was for the benefit of something or someone else. So how could anyone else love you if you don't love yourself?"

Her voice was faltering.

"It's weird, though. Your 'selflessness'—_iie_, your lack of concern for yourself—also makes you self_ish_. Think about it. Because you throw yourself away just like that, it also means that you don't think of the feelings of those who love you… those who don't want to lose you just yet."

The blue eyes that met his green were awash in sadness.

"It's like at any time, you could just… go away and never come back."

Kurama sank into a spiral of nostalgia. His beseeching the Forlorn Hope to take his own life in lieu of his dying _'Kaa-san_'s… His giving his very all in his desperate battle of one-upmanship against Karasu… His bidding a short-lived farewell to his Youko self…

How many times had he put his life on the line for one cause or another? How many times had he, indeed, nearly gone away and never come back?

_I've been looking back on my life very often lately._

_And it's because of you._

Suddenly, a flash of thunder lit the drab gray sky. But they could see her twenty-storey condominium building by now. Pacing ahead of him and turning around, Setsu started walking backwards, her hands still behind her back, her eyes never leaving his.

"_Sempai_, may I tell you how I… uh, somehow love myself?"

A strong, chilly gust blustered past them. Kurama nodded quietly, his hair catching the furious wind, his forelocks thrashing against his eyes.

"Hagiri Kaname has fangirls of his own. Could you just _imagine_ their reactions the first time that he…" Despite how nonstop a motor her mouth had been for the past few minutes, Setsu was fast becoming ill at ease with the words now leaving her lips. "… uhhh…" Still stepping in reverse, she suddenly tripped on a jagged rock she did not see coming. "… kissed me… when all of them could see?"

Kurama _could_ imagine them. In fact, he didn't even have to strain himself.

"You know the drill." Regaining her composure, she darted a sidelong glance behind her to check for any more stony obstacles that lay in her path. "But I told myself that they couldn't hurt me. No one could hurt me without my consent. I could always choose not to feel hurt. I believe it was because I loved myself. _Iie_, not in the narcissistic or exaggeratedly vain way that we frown upon—or find comedic if we're watching a sitcom or something. I had to assure myself that I had every right to spend time with Hagiri Kaname, no matter what anyone else thought. Once I stopped caring what other people said and did, I was able to spend time with Ame-_kun_ and heck, I grew to like him. Bottom line is, I found myself capable of appreciating someone _else_ because first and foremost, I valued _myself_."

Another bolt of lightning forked from cloud to gloomy cloud. Setsu started unbuttoning her school coat from the bottom up.

"Yours will only be a genuine love when you have already learned to love yourself. Kitajima-_san_ deserves someone who could give her such a love. _Everyone_ deserves a love like that. _Ne_?"

Kurama smiled, still not saying a word. His gaze fell. _Never thought I needed to hear this at_ this _age._

"It's a difficult journey, learning to love yourself. I can't tell you _what_ to love about yourself or _why_ you should. Or _how_. You must find it all out on your own."

Yanking her coat sleeves off her arms, Setsu sank her front teeth into her lower lip awhile before speaking again. "I… I don't like some things you do, but…"

She took one step closer to him, flailed her Meiou jacket behind them, and draped it over both their heads just in time for the first spittle of rain. She stretched her arms out, holding her temporary umbrella over both of them until they made it into the first floor lobby of her condominium tower. Thankfully the drizzle was light, and seemed to end any moment now.

"… I can assure you, you're not alone."

Kurama watched a reddish pink heat rising to her cheeks. Mayonaka-_san_ was blowing hot and cold—resisting the urge to slap him hard one minute, sentimental and almost… supportive… the next. _How fickle, like a woman._

"… _you sabotage your relationships with women…!_"

_The way I doubt everything you do…_

"Thank you, _sempai_. For listening to what I have to say—"

… _I must be sabotaging my relationship with_ you_, too._

"—and for not forcing me to say what I cannot."

Kurama froze. Now she was referring to something else altogether. It all flooded back to him—that she had much to explain to him, but did not until now.

He clenched his fist in his pocket. _I have other ways of finding out the truth._

"Maybe you don't suck with women _that_ much after all," laughed Setsu.

"I'm glad to know _one_ woman who could tolerate me nonetheless."

A disapproving eyebrow shot up. "Don't smooth-talk your way into a woman's heart, Minamino-_sempai_. You could end up breaking it. In fact, you could hurt a woman with just the look in your eyes."

A chuckle escaped Kurama's lips. The look in _her_ eyes seemed to say: _Man, what will I do with you?_

One quick glance to the sky told him that the rain had stopped. Just as Kurama was about to head off to his own home, Setsu pounded her fist on her palm. "Something just dawned on me, _sempai_—the type of woman who would be right for you."

He sighed to himself. _If you mention Kitajima again… or Kuwabara Shizuru… or anyone else we both know…_

"You deserve someone strong. She shouldn't always need you around. Even without you—_iie_, _especially_ without you—she should be able to defend herself. So that you yourself wouldn't feel the need to protect her all the time." She slipped her school coat back on, momentarily forgetting that it was damp from the rain. "Which I believe you really _do_ feel towards certain women."

'_Kaa-san and Kitajima…_ Kurama read in between her lines.

"The woman you end up with should fight her own battles. Not only that—she should be able to _save you_."

He turned his back on her and closed his eyes.

_Even without telling me what I sought you for, you've given me much to think about._

"_Hn_. Now that I listen to myself…" Blue eyes narrowed in thought. "I know _exactly_ what woman would be perfect for you!"

Setsu's face broke into a wide grin.

"A _man_!"

And Kurama sweat-dropped in buckets all the way home.

* * *

Setsu watched his back disappear in the distance.

_Seriously._

She sighed to herself, closed her eyes, and headed to the tower elevator.

_You deserve someone who appreciates everything you are… from the little things that you do—_

A calloused finger pressed the Up button.

—_such as you accompanying me home again…_

Soon, the metal shafts parted to allow her inside.

… _to the silent sacrifices that you make—_

She stepped into the elevator and pushed for the eighth floor.

—_which Kitajima_-san _doesn't see._

The elevator doors closed once more, their polished stainless surface reflecting her tired face.

_You deserve someone who could fathom your depth._

Setsu stole a glance at the human girl in the mirror looking back at her, but just as quickly looked away.

_Or maybe you'd just be better off alone._

* * *

Riiiiing.

Riiiiiiiing.

Kurama closed his eyes. The ringing seemed even louder without his sense of sight to distract him.

Suddenly it stopped. Someone had picked up the receiver.

"What?" spat the voice into Kurama's ear.

It wasn't her.

"Who _is_ this?" demanded the young, cheeky man on the other end. "Hello?"

Kurama simply waited, his lips forming a thin line. He had nothing to say to _him_.

"Tch!" grunted an impatient Hagiri Kaname a split second before hanging up.

Kurama listened to the sharp, infinite beeping of the disconnection tone, still not opening his eyes.

* * *

"_Day Five. 1305 hours._" Kaitou logged into his daily journal. "_Mayonaka and I back to status quo. Minamino conversing with San_"

He never got to finish his entry. Charcoal eyes widened behind thick-rimmed spectacles. "Mayonaka-_kun_, what does Minamino think he's doing, pray tell?"

Sitting on the chair beside his, Setsu was holding her trusty pencil in her drawing hand, but her undivided attention was on Kurama and a shyly shrinking Sanae facing each other on the other end of their English classroom. She spoke up amidst a bustling buzz of whispers and murmurs of shock and disbelief. "It's amusing to watch, _ne_? Minamino-_sempai_ approaching a girl, as 'shy' a guy as he is."

"A rare sight indeed," Kaitou pushed his glasses back up his nose. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Funny story," Setsu chuckled and shrugged. "Just yesterday I told him that he sucks with women, and look at 'im now." She propped her elbow on her desk and rested her chin on her palm. "Go get 'er, _sempai_…!"

Meanwhile, across the room, Kurama and one of his admirers slash classmates from junior high and high school were exchanging small, sweet smiles, the former trying his best not to pay any attention to his meddling underclassman colleague cheering him on from behind him.

"Sanae-_san_, thank you for tipping Mayonaka-_san_ off regarding my locker."

"But…" Blood flooded to Sanae's face. She hung her head low, refusing to meet his eyes. "How did you know it was me…?"

"Your penmanship is one of a kind."

Just then, Sanae felt clouds of steam escaping her ears. Was she deflating? It sure felt like she was. Minamino-_sama_ actually recognized her by her handwriting! And did he just pay a compliment to it? It sure felt like he did.

"Mayonaka-_san_ thought so as well. Rest assured—she didn't show it to anyone else."

A familiarly low, mellow voice cut across the room. "_Ne_, _sempai-tachi_, why don't you two go out together sometime?"

Sanae peered over the tall Kurama's shoulder in search of that impish tease. Knowing exactly who it was, a suddenly speechless Kurama sweat-dropped. _Mayonaka_-san_!_ He mentally warned a certain someone who used to be able to hear his every thought. _You're pushing it…!_

He laughed lightly, trying to dispel the awkwardness lingering in the air. "Yes," he began, still chuckling in between his own silences. "That suggestion sounds…"

A serenely smiling Sanae shook her head.

"It's all right. You don't _have_ to go out with me, Minamino-_sama_. Just ask me out when you really _want_ to."

Kurama did not know what to say to that. If he did not ask her out _now_, then she would get the idea that he didn't really want to after all…

Reinforcing her own words, Sanae nodded to him, that sweet, serene smile never once leaving her lips. "Go." Her eyes turned to the only freshman in the room. "She's been waiting."

And for one unforgettable moment, Kurama smiled at her one more time and clapped a warm, gentle hand on her shoulder… right before he walked away.

While watching his back distancing from her, the wistful, secretly wishful fangirl could only sigh.

"So," smirked Kaitou smugly, pushing his glasses further up his nose, their thick, near-opaque lenses hiding his eyes. "How was it, Minamino?"

"Now _that_ wasn't so bad, _ne_?" Setsu grinned mischievously, a little dimple emerging on one corner of her lips.

Kurama had just arrived in between the two seatmates when Setsu leaned closer and muffled her voice so that only the three of them could hear.

"See, _sempai_? Not every girl who likes you is out to take advantage of you. Now _that_'s the mark of someone who truly loves you."

On the other side of the advanced English classroom, Sanae's practice partner Nishizawa Ryunosuke stood beside her and followed her gaze, his eyes twinkling in awe and his drool dripping from his mouth. "Wooow… Minamino actually _talked_ t' ya…"

Sanae turned to her class partner, her smile now slightly smaller than before. "I knew it wouldn't have worked. Even if he _did_ open his locker."

The Minamino fanboy swabbed his excess saliva off his chin with his lacy handkerchief. "Is this about the can of paint you told me about?"

She nodded. "Aki-_chan_ thought we could frame her. But even if everything went according to plan, I suppose Minamino-_sama_ wouldn't have blamed her anyway."

The two Minamino Shuuichi fans fell silent as they observed their favorite colleague holding an unusually animated conversation with the word wizard Kaitou Yuu and the new kid in class. All three of them seemed to be the strong, silent type as individuals. Unapproachable, and would not approach just anyone, either. Sociopaths—they preferred to keep their distance from everyone else.

But not from each other.

Even now, their beloved Minamino-_sama_ and that Fine Arts freshman were exchanging small talk and smiles. They seemed to be teasing Kaitou of something much too embarrassing for him to take sitting down.

"Yeah," Ryunosuke folded his arms before his chest and sighed to himself. "He likes 'er too much."

Suddenly, he heard two, three knocks from right behind him. Both Ryunosuke and Sanae whirled and found another freshman by their doorway.

Thick-rimmed spectacles glinted against the light. "Mayonaka-_kun_," Kaitou pointed to the door. "You have a visitor."

"Oh, _no_ Kaitou-_san_!" From beside the doorframe, Nami waved her entire arm to catch the attention of the only three students in the room she knew. "I came to see _you_!"

Two green and two blue eyes widened. Did Kaitou just lose his soul again? Or did he freeze from (ec)static shock?

* * *

Was this his karma for breaking Kitajima's heart?

He had taken it all in before: the rich, heady aroma of percolating coffee soaking the air… the ever-repetitive chug and churn of roasting beans… the bubbling of the freshest batch of strong, dark brew… the smooth saxophone jazz playing softly in the background… Warm and cozy, indulging, decadent—the ambience of the same coffee shop where he and Kitajima went just the day before.

Was he going to be reminded of his date with her everyday from now on?

But this time, he found himself seated at a homier, more secluded corner of the shop designed to comfortably accommodate four to six customers—a parlor booth consisting of two parallel lounge sofas, a long rectangular table in between them, and a stained glass lampshade hanging above it.

Mayonaka-_san_ was still standing before the cashier counter, either unable to make up her mind as to what to choose from the café menu, or intentionally placing her order only after all of them were done. He and Kaitou had gone in and out of there in less than two minutes—Kaitou had simply followed his recommendation and opted for the same French roast that he himself had tasted just yesterday, while today he wanted to try their specialty oolong tea. Akasaki-_san_ had happily volunteered to claim all their purchases from the self-serve area, which she was already doing at the moment.

Kaitou never took his eyes off their female companions holding up the lines at the far end of the café. "Despite all else, I really tried to win, Minamino. I wanted to see her soul."

"So did I," admitted Kurama in a whisper, just as mindful of the distance between them and the girls. The two could arrive at their table at any time.

"Minamino," Kaitou cleared his throat, preparing himself for an awkward moment. "When you threatened to take my soul yourself, you were serious, were you not?"

A shadow eclipsed Kurama's face. He hung his head low, hiding his eyes beneath his forelocks. He said nothing.

"Had you made good on that threat, I would not have had the chance to tell you—she claims her soul is colorless." Kaitou clasped his hands together atop their parlor table, interweaving his fingers. "That otherwise frivolous piece of information must raise as many a question and an eyebrow for you as it does for me."

"Perhaps _this_ may interest you."

And with the stealth befitting of a grand master thief, Kurama suddenly passed a folded sheet of paper under their dining table to his just as suddenly intrigued seatmate.

"Kaitou. I need you to make as much sense of this as you can. I trust that you can fill me in on anything I may have missed—"

"What's this I hear, Minamino? You need my help? Why, how—"

Kurama purposely cut him short. Neither of them had the time for deadpanning banter—not within earshot of Mayonaka-_san_. "You have until tomorrow."

Once again, Kaitou was beholding his former longtime rival's dark side. Snorting to himself, the reluctant salutatorian unclasped his hands and reached below the table, receiving the note on the sly and slowly opening up one of its flaps, only to lay eyes on Kurama's own writing. "I assume the message herein is in some way relevant to her, correct?"

"You be the judge," continued the consistent valedictorian in an undertone, green eyes still trained onto the female freshmen making their way to their table. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Well, I must say you couldn't have chosen a better man for the job," scoffed Kaitou, his sense of pride swelling up from his strongest academic competitor's self-confessed faith in his skills. "And just in time. I haven't had a mildly challenging brainteaser in a while."

"Don't take this too lightly, Kaitou. It's from _Reikai_. Anything is possible." Kurama said in closing as they both looked up at Setsu and Nami drawing up to them, each balancing a full tray in her hands.

"Here's your orders!" A beaming Nami chimed melodiously in English, her Rs rolling off her lips like Ls. The Musicology student could keep it up only for so long—her Japanese tongue finally betrayed her right when she began setting cups and saucers onto their table. "Oolong tea for Minamino-_san_, and French roast for _you_, Kaitou-_san_! Enjoooy~!"

Standing next to her enthusiastic best friend, a dark, eerily silent Setsu needed not say anything for both Kurama and Kaitou to tell that she was definitely _not_ going to play a cutesy-cute, Engrish-speaking Lolita waitress solely for their entertainment anytime soon. A shadow eclipsing her face, the serious, dangerous-looking freshman merely plopped the round tray of cakes and pastries on the free space upon their tabletop. "Just get whichever's yours."

Kurama chuckled at how glaringly different Mayonaka-_san_ and Akasaki-_san_ were. Meanwhile, Kaitou only had eyes and ears for one of them. "You should consider a part-time stint in a maid café, Nami," he suggested, his freckled cheeks slowly pinking from one very heavenly daydream of Akasaki Minaku in a frilly, form-fitting maid uniform. "Your English, however, leaves some room for improvement." The pedantic perfectionist then pointed out his beloved's grammatical error using the very language in which she committed it. "You should have said 'Here _are_ your orders,' since the subject of your sentence—the 'orders'—is in plural form."

Setsu looked up from her overused sketchbook now sprawled on her side of their table, her brow raised. "Oh, cut her some slack, Kaitou-_sempai_—"

"No, no." A slight frown crossing her face, a concerned Nami suddenly clapped both her hands on Setsu's drawing arm, urging her senior upperclassman to go on. "Go ahead, Kaitou-_san_. I _need_ this! If no one tells me what I'm saying wrong, then how am I ever going to take the same advanced English class all you guys are taking now?"

Setsu fell silent and unintentionally traded glances with an already silent Kurama taking several small, slow sips of his tea. Apparently, her best friend actually _wanted_ to attend their class as well. But she would have to settle for pursuing it in a later term.

"_There's something… sad… about that,_" Kurama could almost hear Setsu remark to herself, despite the fact that their minds were not telepathically linked at the time.

Or did it come from him himself?

"I'm sure you will eventually, Akasaki-_san_," Kurama assured Nami with an earnest smile.

"Our class isn't all it's cracked up to be, anyway," Setsu closed her eyes. "Would you _seriously_ want to be in the same classroom as _his_—" She jerked her head towards Kurama sitting diagonally across her. "—legion of rabid fangirls for an entire semester?"

"Agreed," nodded Kaitou, pushing his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. "Moreover, would you also accept being under the instruction of that terror of a lecturer called Lerner?"

"Learner?" echoed Nami in her flawed Engrish, both unfamiliar with the name of their instructor and misunderstanding what Kaitou had just said. "I don't get it. You have a teacher who's a learner at the same time?"

"No, our professor's _name_ is Lerner," Kaitou pointed out. Kurama and Setsu were now becoming increasingly aware that their respective seatmates were leaning closer and closer to each other without even knowing it. "Which makes him both a 'teacher' and a 'Lerner' at the same time!"

"Get out!" exclaimed Nami as slang for her current state of disbelief.

An oh-so-slightly affronted Kaitou adjusted his glasses. "I don't see why I should, but you better believe it!"

"So it's true?" Nami inquired again in amused disbelief. "He's a 'teacher' _and_ a 'Lerner' _at the same time_!" She clapped her hands together, her sense of humor getting the better of her. "That's so funny!" She giggled, snorting softly—but a snort remained a snort no matter how soft.

And when Kaitou began accompanying her odd laughter with his own, Setsu quietly raised an eyebrow, shook her head, and casually shrugged at a smiling but sweat-dropping Kurama. This time around, they needed only meet eyes.

"_This is strange._"

"_You can say_ that _again._"

* * *

Moist, sponge-like morsels of cake were just about to fall off Nami's tiny fork.

But she still held it up before a tight-lipped Setsu, her other hand laid out right under the fork to catch any falling crumbs or scraps.

"Come on, Setsu-_chan_!" badgered a relentless Nami, batting her eyelashes as cutely as she could. "Say 'Aaaaahhh'!"

An uninterested Setsu did not even look up from her drawing book.

"Thanks, but no—"

The next thing she knew, the entire overflowing heap of syrupy sugariness had been shoved into her still-speaking mouth without so much as a warning.

The force-feeding college freshman giggled at the now horribly disfigured face of the only girl she had ever known who either didn't seem to have a sweet tooth, or must have lost it at a very young age.

Setsu gulped the forkful of cake down with a scowl. Nami simply never honored her refusals. Then again, she liked her for that.

"Nami," she spat in a gruff, disapproving huff. "That's really sweet."

Suddenly, her skin flared up, bristling like it had just caught fire. No. Like she had just been set on fire. Blue eyes darted to the source of the blistering heat and found Kaitou sizzling her alive with his bespectacled glare.

Green eyes studied the situation at hand. A smile crept up Kurama's lips. _Kaitou is harboring a one-way rivalry towards "Mayonaka_-kun_" again…_

"I meant the cake," a just as aware Setsu pointed out to Nami's jealous secret admirer. "It's too sweet."

Kaitou harrumphed and narrowed his already small eyes at her, confirming Kurama and Setsu's guess. Nami had not a clue. "But you wouldn't have known that until you tasted it yourself! So it's _still_ a good thing that you at least gave it a try!"

A quiet Kurama chuckled at their group dynamic. _These three remind me of Hiei, Kuwabara_-kun_, and Yukina…!_

"I can see what she meant by 'sister'." A grudging Kaitou sitting next to him muttered to himself, so softly that only Kurama could hear. "She's doting on Mayonaka-_kun_ like she were a younger one. Or a doll!"

* * *

"Coffee." Kaitou nursed his piping hot teacup with one hand. "The quintessential adult drink." With a majestic flourish, the wordsmith brought his free hand closer to a most attentive, captivated Nami. "That rich aroma, that slightly bitter edge, that feeling of warmth and mellow anticipation as you blow the steam away before taking your first sip…"

"Oh, Kaitou-_san_…" Nami sighed dreamily, her elbow on their café table beside her glass of iced caramel macchiato and her chin resting on her palm. On this day alone, how many times had he taken her breath away…? "You have such a way with words…"

An exasperated Setsu rolled her eyes. Thankfully, only Kurama noticed. "Oh, please," she muttered under her breath, beyond earshot of the two romancing lovebirds now sitting across each other and gazing into each other's eyes. "_Anyone_ can talk like _that_."

Kurama had lost count of how many times he had sweat-dropped in the past few minutes. He could read the words in those icy blue eyes all too well: "_I think I'm gonna be sick._"

"This is just icing on the cake, my dear!" gloated Kaitou over his coffee, the back of his palm patting his closed journal to draw his darling's attention to it. "You have seen _far_ from the best of me yet!"

"Can I read one of your poems?" Hazelnut eyes brightened at the sight of the published author's private record-keeper of secrets. "Please, please, please? Pretty please with ice cream and sprinkles and a naked…" she paused, unable to think of anyone who would suit her current need. "… _eeto_… whoever you like!—on top?"

Kurama's sweat-drop grew bigger than ever. Setsu smacked her palm onto her face.

"Oh, I am certain that you _can_, as you are literate and therefore possess the faculties necessary to perform the act of reading. However, you _may not_," taunted the word wizard, still being his pedantic perfectionist self.

"Okay," Nami conformed melodiously. "_May_ I read one of your poems? Please, please, please? Pretty please with ice cream and sprinkles and a nake—"

"Nami, I think he gets the point," Setsu cut her off in mid-sentence on purpose, not only because the overly long gag was fast getting too old, but also because of all the salacious "_Coffee, tea, or me?_" scenarios involving Nami in a maid outfit of which she could see Kaitou entertaining _way_ too much deep within the most perverted pleasure center of his brain.

"Now that you asked, yes, you _may_."

Kaitou spread open his journal and flipped its pages with a delicate, secretive care—after all, in its most intimate pages slept his deepest, darkest confessions to the very goddess who was about to lay her eyes on one of his masterpieces—until he came across a particular haiku of his that he dared to let her read:

"_Breaking Wave_

Crumble, ocean tide,  
crumble the rockiest shore  
into fine white sand."

Unfortunately for the busily sketching Setsu, Nami just _had_ to read it aloud. In no less than her earsplitting Engrish, of course.

"This tears it," snapped the distracted illustrator, getting up from her end of the lounge seat and taking her trusty sketchpad and pencil with her. "I hope you don't mind, but I'm moving over there."

But neither Nami nor Kaitou even heard her.

So Setsu took it as a sign that they did not mind at all, slipped towards the empty parlor behind Kurama and Kaitou's couch, and sat directly behind Kurama's back, her eyes trained past the exit of the coffee shop.

"_Breaking Wave"…_ Kurama repeated the title of the three-lined epigram to himself. _English for "Nami"!_

Once Setsu was settled behind him, Kurama turned to the girl against his back, speaking in a low undertone. "Mayonaka-_san_, do you suppose Akasaki-_san_ knows that poem was about—"

"Her?" Setsu finished for him in just as soft a whisper, still etching away onto her drawing pad. "Probably not. And even if Kaitou-_sempai_ really _is_ that 'shore' in it, I still don't think she'd read any sexual overtones between the lines."

A smirk curled Kurama's lips. Even without their minds linked, he could trust hers to know what's on his.

For several more minutes, he simply watched the romance unfolding before his eyes. "Kaitou-_san_, I was thinking…" Nami took Kaitou's hands in her own. "Would you be interested to write song lyrics for me?"

When a beet-red Kaitou suddenly fell silent, his glasses glinting against the lampshade light, Kurama decided to pay no more attention to them. _Perhaps I should leave them to themselves as well._

Again he turned to the girl against his back. "Mayonaka-_san_?"

"_Hn_?" Setsu neither tore her eyes off the open shop door nor stopped her furious penciling.

"Mind if I join you?"

She took long to respond. "Up to you," she mumbled gruffly in between long, heavy pencil strokes. "I don't own this table anyway."

Kurama rose from his seat, whirling behind him to face her. He peered over her shoulder and studied the human subject she was immortalizing on paper: a farmer bent down amidst a field of tall cereal grasses bearing kernels on large ears, breaking his back to husk corn. The face of the man looked strangely realistic.

Suddenly, the barista behind the self-serve counter loudly barked a surname into the café microphone, calling for that particular customer to pick up his or her order. "Furukawa! Espresso for Furukawa!"

Setsu could not take any more. She stood up from her new seat and shut her sketchbook, tucking it under the crook of her arm. "Darn it, I can't concentrate. I'll just go for a walk, _ne_?"

Kurama was listening to her footsteps dying away when a familiar high-pitched voice snatched his attention.

"Minamino-_san_, where did Setsu-_chan_ go?" piped up a curious Nami.

"Outside," relayed Kurama. "She was too distracted to draw here."

"Maybe _we_ should go, too!"

Kaitou, quite ill at ease with the sight of his beloved and the unintentional babe magnet interacting with each other, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose to mask his growing discomfort. "Now, now, Nami, there's no reason for _all three of us_ to keep Mayonaka-_kun_ company." Charcoal eyes behind thick-rimmed specs shot Kurama a look that screamed _Leave us alone—now!_ "Minamino can do that himself."

The third wheel got the message. Loud and clear.

"I'll go," Kurama sighed to himself and left the café.

He found Setsu absently nibbling the eraser tip of her pencil as she strolled along the sidewalk across the road; her hands, while clasped behind her back, clutching her sketchpad and even swinging it from side to side. Her back was turned to him, so she did not see him crossing the street to follow in her tracks.

But before he could reach her, he overheard two male voices coming from the front curb of the driveway of the five-star hotel he had just passed.

"Furukawa! You _finally_ got yourself one of those!"

"Oh, no, I didn't buy it. I just found it in my post."

Kurama recalled the man's name as that of the customer being paged in the café. Green eyes searched for the sources of the voices and found two middle-aged men in uniform touting handguns in leather holsters on their belts. _The taller one looks like…_

A gasp caught in his throat. _The man in Mayonaka_-san_'s drawing!_

"You just _found_ it? You sure it's yours?"

"Well," the taller hotel security guard pointed to the name scribbled onto the takeaway cup. "It has my name on it…"

"Wow, must be your lucky day!"

"I've been thinking of ordering this very espresso since I started working here," murmured Furukawa to his curious colleague and took a long, savoring nip of his mysterious drink. "About six years ago now."

"But on _our_ salary, we can't afford it!" laughed the other guard.

His freshman classmate now distancing further and further away, the eavesdropping college student jammed his hands in his pants pockets and continued listening to the guards with narrowed eyes.

"It's really good." The guard named Furukawa gulped down another lingering sip. "Tastes just like my wife's. She used to—"

"Yeah, yeah," the other unnamed guard brushed his story off with a wave of his hand. "You've told me a million times: she used to make you her own special blend before you went out to the field."

_Field…?_ Kurama remembered the corn farmer in Setsu's sketchpad.

"I've always been a heavy coffee drinker. Always had to be. Back then, I'd wake up three hours before sunrise to till our corn field. Now I still need it, but to keep myself awake on the job."

_Corn field,_ noted Kurama. _That settles it._

"Yeah, I _see_ you, man, watching our guests going in and out of that café across the street for the longest time," admitted Furukawa's fellow hotel security officer. "And I've been wondering when you'd _ever_ just walk into that café and _buy_ something!"

"And to think I did that _every day_…" whistled Furukawa in awed disbelief, more to himself than to his listener. "… for _six years_…"

"_Heh_, maybe your guardian angel took pity on you and finally gave you what you wanted!" cried the other guard, elbowing his fellow guard jokingly.

"_Guardian angel," huh…?_

His eyes now closed, and his hands still in his pockets, Kurama strode towards the brunette casually strolling back into the café, still dangling her drawing book to and fro and gnawing on her pencil.

* * *

Setsu had just stepped into the doors of the coffee shop when she noticed a little boy tiptoeing in front of one of the bookshelves. He was reaching for a children's storybook that someone of great stature had very unwisely shelved at the topmost ledge.

"Ngh!" The boy gnashed his teeth, refusing to give up.

Right when the child started jumping for the book in desperation, Setsu stepped in, taking her pencil out of her mouth. "Hey. Careful there," she cautioned to the boy, pointing to the thin hardback sticking out of the shelf. "It's _this_ one, _ne_? I'll get it."

She stretched her arm out to its full length, but the book was just an inch out of her own reach. Just as she herself resorted to tiptoeing, another longer outstretched arm brushed against hers and drew the book out.

With a small smile, Kurama handed the fairy tale classic to the now satisfied, excited boy.

"Yay!" The child's face lit up. "Thanks, mister!"

Kurama saw the little boy off just as Setsu walked away.

"_Hn_. _Somebody_'s trying to show off his really long thighs."

That same quiet smile lingered on Kurama's face. He knew the grace beneath that gruff façade.

_Your intentions are commendable, Mayonaka_-san_, but you can't save everyone you see._

Both headed back to their original parlor table, where Kaitou and Nami were smiling teasingly at them over their now empty coffee cups.

"Did _you two_ have fun without us?"

"Oh, no more than _you two_ did."

* * *

For once in his life, Kaitou felt that he was a link in a chain, a member of a tight-knit circle of friends.

He and Kurama strode along the sidewalk side by side, watching their two female companions strolling several steps ahead of them. All smiles and in her element, a high-spirited Nami clung on to Setsu's left arm, appreciatively ogling one shop after another and gushing about every last window display that caught her eye.

"Hmph. Look at those two," Kaitou scoffed to his fellow male beside him, motioning to the two girls in front of them. "All close and cuddling—linking arms like schoolgirls from a _shoujo-ai manga_ struggling with their sexual identities."

A knowing gleam twinkled in Kurama's eye.

"Why Kaitou, you're surprisingly familiar with such a genre."

Kaitou froze, gulping a lump of ample proportions back down his throat. The smile now curling Kurama's lips was suspiciously sweet. "What other secret 'interests' have you been engaging in all this time?"

Pushing his spectacles back up the bridge of his nose to regain his erratic composure, a sarcastic Kaitou stammered his way out of the grave he had dug for himself, but the deadpan Kurama swiftly delivered one witty comeback after another. Paying no attention to the two suddenly chatty boys behind them, Nami thanked her best friend once again for accompanying her on her first "date" of sorts with Kaitou.

Setsu could hear little to nothing of what she was saying. The only words that made it from her ears to her mind came from behind them: "Trust me, Kaitou. Mayonaka-_san_ and Akasaki-_san_ are not—"

Without even whirling to face them, a scandalized Setsu's face contorted into a sour, awful mess just as Nami ended her heartfelt speech with a promise accompanied by an assuring wink. "Don't worry, Setsu-_chan_! If Hagiri-_kun_'s not cool with this, _I'll_ take the heat from him!"

But even before his face could flicker across Setsu's mind, Nami pointed towards a large automated machine across the street. "Hey, look, _minna-san_! A _PuriKura_!"

Just then, a most excited Nami grabbed hold of one of Kaitou's arms with her free hand and broke into a mad dash across the pedestrian lane, dragging a suddenly wide-eyed Setsu and a stunned yet secretly thrilled Kaitou with her. His hands jammed into his pants pockets, Kurama looked both ways before crossing the street after them, quietly chuckling at the sight of the typically serious Kaitou and Setsu now comically flying against their will.

When he arrived behind them, Nami had long been working the controls of the do-it-yourself photo booth, choosing from the picture borders and backgrounds on the LCD screen. "It's been a long time since we last took a picture of us together, Setsu-_chan_!"

Standing behind the restless raven-haired girl, Kaitou stared into the monitor and adjusted his glasses. "This contraption seems to have escaped my notice until now. What did you say it was again?"

He obviously needed to take his nose out of his books and computer monitor and get out of his library of a bedroom more often. But this didn't even cross Nami's mind.

"A _PuriKura_!" she repeated, bursting with eagerness. She showed Setsu a backdrop filled with red and white roses. "Do you like _this_ for our pic?"

"It's distracting for a background, _ne_?" Setsu admitted uneasily. "But if _you_ like it, don't let me stop you."

Kurama volunteered to enlighten the unacquainted Kaitou. "The _'PuriKura'_ is just your ordinary picture-taking booth. Its name is a portmanteau of the English words 'Print Club'."

"Okay then! Get ready!" chimed Nami. "_Smiiiiile_, Setsu-_chaaan_!"

"The only difference between this and other cameras," added Setsu, stopping momentarily when the automated photo machine snapped a shot of Nami embracing her arm and cuddling against her cheek. "is that _this_ converts your picture into thumbnail-sized photo stickers. Don't worry—it doesn't capture souls or anything!"

She and Kurama traded knowing glances and grins.

"Which is more than I can say about _the two of you_," muttered Kaitou grudgingly, darting dagger glares at both of them—not only for defeating him in his own Taboo games, but for making him look ignorant in front of Nami as well.

But she didn't even notice.

"People hardly use these things anymore," Nami pointed out, nostalgia in her eyes. "Since almost everyone these days have their own cameras. But _I_ think it's a classic! You should try it, Kaitou-_san_! Come on, take a picture with me!"

A cheery Nami pulled a now blushing Kaitou to her side. As she oriented him with the control buttons of the self-programmable studio, Setsu stood next to Kurama with her hands clasped behind her back. "If only she knew that she didn't even have to ask."

Kurama nodded in agreement. Watching Kaitou interacting with Nami was amusing. Little by little, Mayonaka-_san_'s best friend was somehow changing his longtime colleague and one-sided academic rival for the better. Kaitou used to take excessive pride in learning everything on his own. Now, he didn't even seem to mind being lectured to in the least. That, or he was simply putting on a good face for Nami.

As soon as the two finished having their snapshot taken, Nami flailed her hands up in the air, beckoning Kurama and Setsu closer. "Now let's _all_ have our picture together! Come on, you guys! It'll be _great_!"

Him still with his hands in his pants pockets, and her still with her hands clasped behind her back, both Kurama and Setsu sighed to themselves and joined their friends.

"Do we have a choice?" Kurama spoke in a low whisper so that only Setsu would hear him.

"Did you have to ask?" Their minds did not even have to touch for this.

Their next few minutes resulted in a sheet containing four photo stickers of a beaming Nami affectionately hugging a reluctant Setsu's neck on the foreground, Kaitou adjusting his glasses behind Nami, and Kurama simply smiling behind Setsu.

A pleased Nami peered into the picture more closely. "Your blush was just so cute here, Setsu-_chan_!" She gushed in delight as both Kurama and Setsu eyed Kaitou meaningfully. Both of them were well aware of his tendency to get all the wrong ideas when it comes to Nami and her feelings for other people. "And you're very photogenic, Minamino-_san_!"

A whirlpool of emotions sweeping over him, Kaitou had not even opened his mouth to speak when Setsu murmured into his ear. "Relax, _sempai_. She's just speaking her mind. If she really liked him better than she did you, then she would have had _their_ picture taken, too. But she didn't, _ne_?"

Kaitou's shoulders relaxed as he heaved a sigh of relief. Still entirely unaware of her secret admirer's feelings for her, Nami snapped her fingers. "Hey, why don't _you two_ have a go at it?"

Green eyes snapped wide open.

"_Hn_?" Blue eyes blinked.

"A brilliant suggestion!" Kaitou smirked from beside Nami. He obviously intended to back her up all the way. "I don't see why you shouldn't. No other customer queued in line behind us anyway. And _we_—" he gestured towards his beloved. "—already have our own picture. Now it's _your_ turn."

Both nonhumans had merely exchanged dubious glances when Nami planted one hand on their backs and shoved them towards the camera lens just in time for Kaitou to click the shutter button.

The surprise shot turned out to be a disaster. The still camera-shy Setsu appeared even more uncomfortable than before, neither smiling for—nor even looking at!—the camera in the first place. Not to mention she was standing too far away from Kurama, whose smile now seemed… unnatural.

"_Eeeeehhh_? What's _this_?" Nami moaned upon seeing the image for herself, as though she was actually suffering in the throes of physical pain. "_MOU!_"

But Kaitou devised a plan.

"Nami," he began, savoring the moment. He enjoyed the way her personal nickname rolled off his lips. It was delicious. "Perhaps we should just take another picture of the four of us together."

"But we already _have_ a—"

Kaitou moved in towards her, cupping his hand over her ear to muffle his voice from the two seemingly uncooperative spoilsports watching their every move. Nami snapped her fingers again and clapped her hands together. "You're right, Kaitou-_san_! Let's just have another one with all of us in it!"

"Again?" Setsu cocked an eyebrow. Kurama sighed.

So all four of them posed for another shot, this time with Kaitou and Nami standing in front, and the taller Kurama and Setsu respectively behind them.

However, this time, right when the camera clicked, Kaitou and Nami ducked down to disappear from the picture, leaving only the two behind them in it!

But the reflexes of the taller pair were much faster than the shorter couple had expected. Come snapshot time, blue eyes had darted down, following the suddenly squatting Nami. Meanwhile, Kurama's eyes were closed, yet his right hand was very noticeably out of the photo—at that point, he had already clapped a restraining hand on the escaping Kaitou's shoulder.

Phase One of Kaitou's stratagem had failed.

"It would have been a good plan," Kurama smiled at his male friend slash rival. "Too bad it didn't work."

"You shutterbugs are sneaky." Only now did Setsu's dimple finally show.

Nami sighed as Kaitou cleared his throat.

"Oh, well." Disappointment ringing in her voice, Nami turned back to her scheming partner. "Let's just leave those two alone."

"I have a proposal for you," Kaitou bade to Nami, signaling the commencement of Phase Two of his ploy. "How about one more with just the two of us, then?"

Setsu raised a curious eyebrow and traded looks with Kurama. Kaitou was getting bolder now. "Proposal," eh? Both of them could very well imagine another one he could make to her someday.

"This time, let _me_ handle the controls," volunteered Kaitou. "I insist."

"Okay!" The gleam in both Nami's eyes and grin held a secret.

Things between Kaitou and Nami were becoming more and more interesting. So a silently amused Kurama and Setsu watched from behind as the black-haired couple stood before the camera one more time, now much closer to each other and even holding hands. Little did they know that Kaitou and Nami had posed in such an intimate manner to leave enough room to include _them_ in the photo!

As soon as they heard the shutters click, Kaitou directed the _PuriKura_ machine to zoom in on Kurama and Setsu together—and actually smiling from watching him and Nami together!—and printed out _only_ the zoomed part.

Both of them had such genuine smiles in this one. And for once, they were looking directly into the lens.

* * *

Neither Kurama nor Setsu could believe it. Kaitou had outwitted them both. Apparently, he and Nami together were a force to be reckoned with. They made a great team.

As they all walked away from the _PuriKura_ booth, Nami handed one sheet of photo stickers to Setsu, who merely shook her head with a small smile. "Thanks but no, thanks. I can just draw any of you when I want to anyway."

Her face rounding into a cute pout, an insistent Nami still held the sheet out towards her best friend and, with her free hand, repeatedly poked the latter's cheek. "But you can't just draw from memory _forever_, Setsu-_chan_! Someday your memory won't be as good as it used to be, and you're going to forget what we all looked like today!" Nami nodded mechanically, like a toy bobble-head. "And you just might need one of _these_ to help you remember!"

A chuckle escaped Setsu's lips. _But my memory would never…_ She sighed. "If you say so, Nami-_chan_. But all of you should have the rest of them. I'll take just one."

Nami's face brightened as she pasted one sticker onto the tip of Setsu's pointer finger. "There! Setsu-_chan_, I know you like drawings over pictures because you love to draw—"

"Painters and photographers may both be visual artists, but the painter devotes much more time and effort to turn moments into memories. Some photographers just point and shoot." Setsu shrugged nonchalantly, not even taking one peek at the photo on her finger.

"—But photos are important too, you know! They capture stuff that happens _too fast_ for you to draw!"

Kurama could sense the pride in Kaitou's sudden smirk. The seasoned intellectual was most proud of his beloved. He could almost hear him say "That's my girl!" or something along those lines, only a more… cerebral… version.

"Doesn't Minamino-_san_ look just dashing in that one?" Nami grabbed Setsu's hand and brought her stickered finger closer to inattentive blue eyes. "So debonair… A real-life Prince Charming!"

An exasperated Setsu resisted the need to massage her temples. _More like Prince Charmless._

Nami gushed on just as Kurama sweat-dropped. "_Purinsu_ Minamino! I should have changed the template of the _PuriKura_ to 'Royal' so he would have had a crown on his head! Why didn't I think of that earlier?"

Something struck Setsu. _Hey… Puri. Kura. It could be short for Purinsu Kura…_ Then she knuckled herself on the forehead, dismissing the fleeting idea altogether. _Oh, don't even think about it…! You might change his form! And you wouldn't want Nami_-chan _to see that—or Kaitou_-sempai _to see it_ again_!_

Suddenly, she felt a strip of adhesive tape sticking onto the smack middle of her forehead. Distracted blue eyes regained focus and found Nami now affixing another photo sticker, this time beneath the tufts jutting out of Kaitou's curly pompadour.

"You know, you guys, they say if you stick a _PuriKura_ sticker of you and your friends on your friends' foreheads, the picture will stay in their memories forever! They'll never forget you!"

Now Nami was standing right before Kurama, tiptoeing the best she could to reach his brow. But she encountered two problems. One: He was the tallest among them. And two: His long forelocks protected his forehead.

"_MOU_!" Groaning in playful defeat, she gave up and pressed the sticker onto Setsu's right palm instead. "I can't reach it, Setsu-_chan_! _You_ do it!"

Kurama sweat-dropped again just as Setsu chuckled in response. "Nami-_chan_, I don't think he would want me to."

Kaitou regarded her silently. Any other girl in their advanced English class would have given up an arm, a leg, and a lung for a chance to even just brush against Minamino.

* * *

_Now's my chance._

Kurama took Setsu's right hand in his and peeled the sticker off her palm. Then he swept his forelocks up and attached the sticker to his now fully exposed forehead.

_No. No blood on her hand now._

As crimson locks fell over his face as they always did, Setsu pointed straight at him and blinked. "_Sempai_, you have a widow's peak," she pointed out, her expression that of a thinker who had just had a Eureka! moment. "_Hn_. If you ever decide to settle down, whoever you eventually end up with—"

"Had better be careful of dying ahead of you!" Kaitou finished for her.

Both of them shared a laugh about it. Even Nami was grinning. Setsu-_chan_ looked so happy, she could not help herself. While her typically self-possessed best friend laughed away, Nami seized the opportunity to add one more picture sticker to the left of the one already on Setsu's brow, one more to the right, one more on her chin, and a last one on her left cheek.

Having more fun than he would willingly admit, Kaitou joined in, depressing one of his own onto Setsu's other cheek. "_This_ is for yesterday's game!"

"Look, Mayonaka-_san_. You have room for one more."

A smiling Kurama himself stripped a sticker off its sheet and lightly poked it onto the tip of Setsu's nose.

Setsu's face could not contort any more than it already had. Despite the absence of spider veins bulging out of her, the three of them could tell just how royally pissed off she was. Kurama chuckled to himself. _This reminds me of the time Kuwabara_-kun_, Botan, and I put our spirit tracking stickers on Hiei._

"Just in case you all forgot, I'm not a human sticker book." Setsu closed her eyes, refusing to watch her three companions taking immense pleasure from her misery. "Besides, if we take that saying a little further, it would be more meaningful for us to put stickers right _here_—" she pointed to the left side of her own chest. "—to keep our loved ones close to our…" She stopped in mid-sentence, the words _What the hell?_ written all over her face. "Never mind."

But her three listeners were well aware that she was alluding to their hearts.

"Awww!" cooed Nami, clasping her hands together. Her hazelnut eyes glittered in romantic awe. "That's so _sweet_!"

Kaitou's smirk grew as he adjusted his glasses. Their lenses glinted against the sun and hid his eyes. "I didn't know you had it in you, Mayonaka-_kun_."

"A closet romantic," remarked Kurama with a soft smile.

Clasping her hands behind her back, Setsu walked away, muttering under her breath. "Man, what was I thinking? For the love of sanity…!"

Her three friends watched her back retreating further and further away until it dawned upon Nami that she actually wasn't coming back. "_Eeh_?" Nami blinked and broke into a mad dash after her, leaving Kaitou and Kurama in the dust. "Wait up, Setsu-_chan_! Don't get mad at me! I'm sorry!" She called out to her best friend disappearing into the distance. "I _love_ youuu~!"

"N-Nami!"

Kurama closed his eyes. He needed not see Kaitou to know that Nami's outcry had rubbed him the wrong way and that he was now chasing after her. The demon-human sighed contentedly to himself, tranquil.

* * *

She locked herself in her home bathroom, where only the golden eyes of her white fox plush toy could see her and all the _PuriKura_ stickers trimming her face.

Setsu dug her nail into the adhesive backing of the photo sticker on her nose and, with neither care nor caution, ripped it off her skin.

Too recklessly.

A stinging pain spread across her nose. Gritting her teeth, Setsu winced to herself, the bridge of her nose wrinkling from her face-twisting grimace.

Furious blue eyes glared at the backside of the thumbnail-sized photograph now stuck onto the tip of her pointer finger. Several black-tipped plugs clogging the pores of her nose dotted the small, sticky surface. She grumbled to herself, darting a glance at her fox plushie. It laughed back at her while saying nothing at all.

"What are _you_ looking at?" she spat to her fox and its grinning golden eyes.

A smile threatening to break out of her own lips, Setsu pressed the photo sticker onto her fox's velveteen nose.

* * *

He was slipping his school coat off his left shoulder when Shiori knocked. "Shuuichi, dinner's ready."

"_Hai_." Kurama called out towards his bedroom door as the long sleeve of his carnation pink jacket slid down his arm. Just then, something caught his eye: a rectangular object half the size of his manager's pin stuck to his white undershirt, right by his heart.

Green eyes danced from the memory. Kaitou and Akasaki-_san_ were hilarious in this picture. _The lengths they went through to take a picture of us alone…_

And the look on Mayonaka-_san_'s face could convince anyone that someone nauseous had just thrown up at her shoes. He laughed a little.

Suddenly, green eyes widened. _When did she…?_

As harmless as it was, this photo sticker meant that she could very well plant something _else_—of a more threatening kind!—by his heart, and it would again escape his notice!

"_It would be more meaningful for us to put stickers right_ here…"

Green eyes wandered to the notebook spread open on his bed. On a once-blank inner page, the two of them smiled right into the camera. Her dimples were especially deep in this one.

"… _to keep our loved ones close to our_…"

He picked up his notebook and stared back at that shyly smiling face.

"Is that what you want me to do?"

_Despite everything new I find out about her…_

He set it down on his desk and left the sticker on his school shirt.

_She's still the same, this_ ningen.

_Still subtle. And just a little dangerous._

**Continued  
****  
**THANK YOU for reading this far!  
Please REVIEW! A word from you keeps me motivated!

This marks the end of the fourth arc: Meiou _Daigaku_. (And what a violent arc it was! *sweat-drops*) On to the fifth arc of _Never Knew_! \^-^/

Yeah, this _was_ more of a "characterization" and "relationship" chapter than a "plot" one. Probably because the previous chapter and this one were originally written as just one chapter.

Kurama and Setsu's long talk scene has not seen the last of me yet! (Poor henpecked Kurama.) I'll beta its contents myself once Inspiration smacks me upside the head. XD

Oh, and I finally agree with Setsu about something: Most of Kurama's height is in his thighs. They're what make him taller than Yusuke, even if Yusuke's torso looks longer than his. (Actually, I think the torsos of _all_ YYH characters look short. Their waistlines are drawn really high—probably because it was the '90s. XD Mrgh, I'm being too fussy over their looks here. It's not as if I'm drawing them!)

And because I can't draw them to save my life…

**Shhh. Kurama and Setsu are **_**real**_**—  
**More on my profile.

Happy reviewing! ^-^ (Thank you in advance~)


	20. The Slow but Beautiful Lover (Part 1)

**Apologia**

Hello there! *waves* I'm back~!

And I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG HIATUS.

Please accept my deepest, humblest apologies for updating only after this long a time. (To put it more positively, though: Thank you very much for waiting~! ^-^)

And now I guess it's Excuse Time.

Seriously, though, I know that all of you deserve an explanation as to my prolonged absence from FF dot Net. So here is a quick rundown of all that consumed my time and attention in between the last chapter and this one (but you don't actually have to read all this if you don't want to):

~ Took more post-graduate degree units. Now just three papers and one final comprehensive examination away from post-grad graduation.

~ Also took driving lessons. (So now, when I type of Kurama driving a "manual," you can trust that I finally know what I'm talking about. XD) Received a brand new car from parents. (My first.) Jaw dropped. Thanked my lucky stars for being an only child. Graduated from driving school. Got my license. Lived through my first auto accident within a week of getting it. *sweat-drops* Trembled from the trauma. Ears suffered from endless parental sermon.

~ Favorite kitten died, came back to life the next morning, and died again the next. O.O (I swear on my own life—it's true! And no, my late kitten's name was _not_ Yusuke. Or Genkai.) Mourned over her. Cried my eyes out. Brooded over the unjust cruelty of life. Grieved some more.

And as time wore on, six more kittens have died on me since. Sadly, my well-meaning but over-eager father even accidentally killed my last one through careless over-involvement. (I know he didn't mean to, but still… *sniffles*)

~ Revamped my nest. Several times. Cleaned every inch of every wall. Got cable TV installed. (Only for the _anime_ channels, I tell you. _ANIME_~! *fist pump*) Nintendo Wii now a permanent appliance in my abode. XD

~ Finally pursued formal Japanese language studies. Finished a two-year course in six months (so that I could get back to writing this sooner). Took the yearly Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). Thankfully, passed it. Now pursuing higher _Nihongo_. (Yes, you can trust my Japanese-to-English translations now! ^-^)

~ Found myself spending waaay too much time with someone who had _veeery_ subtly discouraged me from continuing this little fanfic of mine. (You see, for a long time he had sweet-talked me with the words: "Instead of you just _writing_ a romance, why don't you actually _be_ in one?" With _him_, supposedly. But no. Didn't work out. I'll spare you the dirty details. One thing, though—a fun, but creepy, fact: his name was Yusuke. *shudders to the core* Am I just _that_ obsessed with YYH or what? XD)

~ Now using a new laptop—a netbook. (You know, those teensy-weensy tiny little laptops the size of tablets? Yeah, I'm using one now. It's taking me some time to get used to it. For one, I edited this chapter at roughly only one-eighth of my usual speed… just because this screen is just. So. Freaking. Small.)

~ Oh, and CHORES. Never. Ending. CHORES. It doesn't help that I accomplish them alone, either. (I've programmed myself to mechanically wash the dishes right before typing another portion of this chapter. Yet, as robotic as the routine is, sometimes it still gets a little lonely.)

So now I can drive myself to places, am about to graduate from my Master's degree program, and finally have the time to WRITE. THIS. FIC. AGAIN~! \(^o^)/

(Yeah. That long, and that was _still_ just a rundown. ^^; Sorry, and thank you for reading. ^-^)

* * *

And I wouldn't have had enough inspiration to finish this chapter were it not for _you_ and your awesome reviews:

[EDIT: My dearest reader-reviewers, despite the bleeping long interval between the time that you had sent your reviews and now, I had _still_ typed my _spontaneous_ responses to your reviews—as if you had submitted them just yesterday or something. Again, I AM REALLY SORRY to have taken this long to get back in touch.]

**TeacupKitty**-_san_ (now **TeacupSquid**-_san_): *fans your face cool to bring you back to consciousness* THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR AWAITING THIS DAY. ^-^

Yeah, the adults of YYH _do_ have ridiculously tiny heads, don't they? XD Oh, and about my Japanese… You are most welcome. I will keep your word in mind even while writing the next chapters. ^^

Kaitou's characterization in Chapter 19—actually, in this entire fanfic so far—has been one loopy rollercoaster ride of his superiority complex vis-à-vis his suppressed insecurities. Now this may just be my own character interpretation of Kaitou Yuu, but I'm sure he harbors and hides such insecurities about himself, what with the canon way he pitted himself against Kurama needlessly (his one-sided rivalry). The YYH episode scene with him in the washroom weighing his chances against Kurama in his Taboo game, and his silent yet sweaty anxiety attack soon afterwards, gave me the impression that Kaitou is one to subtly shrink behind his own self-doubts, especially when faced with uncertainty. And we all know that romance is practically alien territory to him. ^_^ And ah, his sappy poetry. *cackles like mad* I try to portray him as a true writer. I fail. XD

So you feel for Maya. You're one of the few. ^^ (I've noticed that I tend to receive _way_ fewer reviews when _she_'s in the limelight in a particular chapter… which must mean that my other reader-reviewers may not like her all that much. Or at all. *shrugs*)

Kurama and Setsu, as a couple… They're hiding in plain sight. XD I'm glad you noticed that they seem to have a world of their own when they're together. (I don't even think _they_'ve realized that yet. ^^;) And "sandworms"! XD What _are_ they doing dating other sandworms, all right? XDD

Thank you for your continued support! Now, back to our regular "mind-shattering brain puzzles" programming—which I hope will no longer be so "brain-shattering" after this new chapter. ^^ *returns your salute*

**unknown player**-_san_: Yeah~! *raises palm* _Apir!_ XD (_Kakaiba talagang mag_-high-five _ang mga Noypi, 'no?_ XDD) Yes, I _could_ sense your "fangirly-ness" kicking in. (And let me be the first to tell you that I find absolutely nothing wrong with that. ^-^ Fangirl away. *grin*) And yes, I _can_ tell that you "love lots of things" in Chapter 19. ^^ (Actually, I loved them, too~)

All that you said you liked and didn't approve of in that chapter were also the _very_ things that _I_ liked and didn't approve of as well! (I'm so glad I'm not alone! ^^) And the way you virtually laugh even when you're virtually angry… It just amuses me to no end. XD

And I can definitely see whom you prefer between Maya and Setsu. Got it. *two thumbs up* Here, have an update!

**Kaori Minamino**-_san_: Welcome baaack~! \(^o^)/ *gets all hyper upon your return* Wow, bullet form. Cool. XD And you _have_ been reading the past few chapters~! Yay! *big appreciative glomp*

"Interested in how Kuwabara can defeat 'them'…KITTY!" Yeah, my attention span sounds like that, too. ^-^ KITTY!

Ah, I now recall your keen eye for the Kaname x Setsu x Kurama x Maya dynamic. Rest assured—their "relationship evolution" ball has been rolling. It's just a matter of time… ^^ Oh, and that _PuriKura_ scene? My personal favorite as of now. I couldn't _not_ write it. XD Yup, see you soon! Looking forward to it!

**Pewter Queen**-_san_ (now **Miss Turing**-_san_): Awww. You reviewed again. ^-^ For a reviewer who actually openly admitted to often reviewing a fanfic only once throughout its run, you have been the only reader-reviewer so far to have reviewed _Never Knew_ without fail since your first time in Chapter 13. (And you even dropped by _Shuuichi's Lover_!) Yes, I noticed. And again, I truly appreciate you. I must admit, having you around gives me a very comforting sense of reassurance. And you even brought virtual cinnamon rolls! \^o^/ Thank youuu~! *resists all temptation to type "Keep 'em coming!"* *resistance obviously not working* XD

And believe it or not, despite the length of Chapter 19, I had written Chapters 18 and 19 in one fell swoop. It just took me some time to post Chapter 19 because my brain overloaded and practically crashed right after uploading 18. And since I have no beta editor, I had to rest-slash-reformat before sitting down to edit 19. (Gee, I sound like a total dork.)

You're right—Kurama really _did_ deserve one good, hard slap in that chapter. (But Maya just adores him too much, and Setsu just seems too level-headed a character, to actually pull it off.) Well, I guess that's why Setsu flat-out spat that he "sucks with women." XD I realize that by writing of him acting like _that_, I was pushing the Kurama character envelope farther than I usually do, and I _could have_ portrayed him in another light that would have been truer to his character. But his "hurting" Maya in such a manner simply served to set the stage for Setsu and him interacting the way they eventually did later in the chapter. Don't worry—he'll patch things up in his typical he-cares-about-her-but-she'll-never-be-able-to-tel l-just-how-much approach (as always, when the time is right). ^-^

Oh, and I _knew_ you'd pick right up on Setsu's _yaoi_ joke. *toothy grin* Glad you found it funny! And once again, THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVIEW! It wasn't in any way "odd" to me. ^^

**tazdevil**-_san_: Hiiiii back~! Thank you for taking a moment of your reading time to actually stop and review this little fanfic of mine—and _Shuuichi's Lover_, too! ^-^ (Sadly, majority of my readers don't even let me know that they've laid eyes on this. And most everyone seemed to have already forgotten about my surgical operation after Chapter 16. So I'm really glad to meet a new reader who reviewed otherwise. ^^ Yes, I'm doing much better now! I appreciate your concern! ^_^)

You know, the way you threw my own expressions back at me also made me smile. (Kurama's and Setsu's eye colors, Setsu's "shy" dimples, and all. XD) Actually, you can _still_ answer the questions I posted in Chapter 11 of this fic any time you want! That's why I left them there. No deadlines or time limits—I'm always open to whatever you have to say. ^-^ As for our beloved Ame-_kun_… You'll see what becomes of him. Soon. ^^

Since you've read _Shuuichi's Lover_, I think you now have a clearer idea of just whom Kurama will really end up with by the end of this fic. (To tell you the truth, as a fangirl I'm not too much into him and Maya together either, but as a writer I try to at least give her a shot at him. Just to be fair to her. ^^;) And regarding your last question… Please expect my answer in a PM, which I will have sent to you right after posting this chapter. (Wouldn't want to spoil it for the readers who prefer not to know. ^^) I hope to hear from you again!

**nevvy**-_san_: Thank you for the all-caps compliment! ^-^ I'm happy that you found this little fish of a fanfic of mine too, in the vast ocean of YYH fanfiction on this website. I've been writing this purely as a hobby—just to get the "I-love-Kurama-so-I'll-write-him-in-a-romance" itch off my system. XD And yes. Really. A love quad. Really. XD

Oh, and please, don't hurt your hand _too_ much. XD I'm sure you'll need it. ^^;; I'm glad you appreciate the rarity and elusiveness of the potential Kurama x Setsu pairing. They've been relationship escapists all throughout this fic so far. (Heck, they're frustrating _me_. XD) Here—a new chapter for Moar Monster! XD I hope this new chapter takes you one step closer to figuring the entire mystery out!

P.S. The "geeky" chapter was Chapter 7. And yeah, I love geeky guys, too. ^^ *glomps Kaitou and Kurama, who star in this chapter*

**funkyeatingeagle**-_san_ (now **FunkEater**-_san_): _Marami pong salamat sa pagtangkilik sa sariling atin! Hehe._ XD

**Starfool**-_san_: Thank you for reviewing Chapter 16 of this little fanfic of mine! (As I've mentioned long ago, I especially appreciate reviews of chapters that aren't the most recently posted—and I just so happen to have a soft spot for Chapter 16 in particular, since it was the one I had written immediately after my major surgical operation back then—so I was actually excited to read your feedback on it.)

You're right: I _did_ previously mention—and you _did_ read somewhere (in Chapter 11, actually)—that English is _not_ my first language. Thank you for the compliment, then. ^-^

"How does he [Kurama] put up with it all? How do Kaito and Setsu-chan do too for that matter?" I realize that you may have intended for this question to be rhetorical, but I'll answer it anyway: With every drop of patience they could squeeze out of every last fiber of their being. XD

By "I feel like Setsu-chan is missing something," did you mean that she _misses_ something—as in she entertains fond, nostalgic memories of the past—or that she _is lacking_ something (like, say, a personality trait of some sort)? Just wanted to clear that up first, so that I could address your concern better. ^^

"I know you asked in one of the previous chapters who your readers thought Kurama should end up with, and I'm going to say Setsu-chan because I want to see how it goes." Got it. Duly noted. ^-^

How observant of you to have noticed that of all the character names in this fanfic, the only name that I did not include in my end-of-chapter glossaries is "Kurama" itself. This is because every chapter of this fanfic serves to somehow "define" Kurama in some way—for one, the title of each chapter always comes from one of Setsu's descriptions of him in that very chapter.

P.S. Actually, I _love_ longish reviews~ \(^o^)/ I hope to hear from you again!

**Shush Love**-_san_: Hey, Ka—! (Whoops. Almost blurted it out. *sweat-drops* Sorry. T_T) _Maraming salamat sa pagpaparamdam!_ ^-^

"I'm glad this was just the characterization because we really became more familiar with the characters and everything and it still leaves a lot..A LOT..of space for the plot. Can't wait to hear more from you!" Err… I take it this was your way of encouraging me to update this fanfic. I am really so sorry I took this long to return from my hiatus. Can't wait to hear more from you, too! ^-^

P.S. Did you know you had submitted your most recent review just one day after my birthday? X3

And… **SPECIAL THANKS** to **bakuraXryou4everluv**!  
Thank you for reviewing this little fanfic of mine!  
Your timing in sending a review my way may have just been random to you, but to me, your review could not have come at a better time. Seriously.  
You see, I had received it on the very weekend before the final examination of my most recent Advanced Japanese course. None of you may know this, but the whole time I was studying for that (grueling) exam, I had been debating with and against myself as to whether or not I should continue writing this fic right after that exam. Your review reminded me that from the time I had starting posting this little fanfic of mine online, this was _no longer just mine_ to write, but also _yours_ to read as well. Just like me, _all of you_ had invested in this, too. So, just as much as I would love to write this fic all the way to its end, all of you deserve to read it until its end as well.  
So yeah, your review kindled the spark that spurred me to write this new chapter. And your Favorites and Alerts subscriptions fanned the flames even higher. Thank you very much for that. \(^o^)/  
Here's a whole new heaping dose of Kurama x Setsu for you!

WELCOME ABOARD to new readers **BlackBulletButterfly**, **Polar Light**, **Cadens Stella**, **Kie-the-dark-demon**, **e1nav57**, **spirit1s**, **Saiyuo12**, **eighteenyearsago**, **Millenia-the-wings-of-valmar**, **Shadow Dice**, **SilverStar56**, **Mayonaka Yoreki** (you know, your pen name sounds _very_ familiar XD), **Eve-Shall-Not-Be-Angered**, **Alanna-Aki**, **Ayame**.**Tenou**, **Ahntanya's-Hope**, **Dispair**, **Kiwichan916**, **AshleyArnetta**, **nothing new in this world**, **SinisteRRRsAngel**, **angelsanddemons01** (hey, I think I've already mentioned you in a previous chapter), **SucreTeen123**, **BloodyKunoichi**, **akuma-chan25300**, **ruler of dragons**, and **Scarlette Bee**!

Greetings to **KrystalFlare**! ^-^ I'm glad you liked my other YYH fanfics! If you're reading this one too, do let me know. Please and thank you~ \(^o^)/

A special shout-out to my _kapwa Noypi otaku_: **Shunrei Ryuzaki**, **FukuWija**, and **spoiled princez**! _Kung binabasa niyo po ito, magparamdam po sana kayo! Maraming salamat!_ ^-^

I'm also real happy to announce that as of late, _Never Knew_ may be found in two other Communities on FF dot Net: **Cadens Stella's Fanfiction Recs** and **When I Fell In Love With You**. Thank you for acknowledging and adding this little fanfic of mine! XD

[EDIT: If any of the author or community names listed above have _changed_ by now, I'm so sorry I haven't been up to speed on the latest developments here on FF dot Net. Yeah, hiatuses tend to do that to people.]

* * *

**A/N  
**Actually, this will be my first time to write something fictitious again—and in the English language, at that—since I started burying myself neck-deep in Japanese. And because my brain's still transitioning from its "Japanese" language setting back to "English" even as you read this, my writing—oh, and come to think of it, my character portrayals, too—might be [(more than) a little] shaky. So please, go easy on me. ^-^

Just a heads-up: This is one of the longest chapters of this fanfic.

And, without further ado, time for my signature signoff:  
**Happy reading! \(^o^)/**

* * *

"_Shuuichi, I know you're hungry, but you're hurting Mommy…"_

_Minamino Shiori winced from the sudden stab that shot through the nerves in her tender bosom as soon as her rosy little angel sank his first two tiny, newly formed baby teeth into her lactating nipple. As much as the first-time mother did not want to admit it (even to herself), nursing her newborn son was a piercing… painful… experience. Was it her own fault—was she still too sensitive, unaccustomed to breastfeeding a child? Or was there truly something… strange… about the infant swathed in her arms?_

_There was something about him that she could not quite put her finger on. The way that he cupped her breast in his ruddy hands, seemingly with measured appraisal… The way that he suckled with such deep, greedy hunger… Even that faraway glint in his eye felt ravenous… predatory._

_He possessed this carnal, animal thirst that she could never explain._

_Shiori did not want to believe it, but her nursling son's movements seemed almost… sentient. Premeditated. Deliberate. He knew everything that he was doing. He sucked on her teat with the conscious intention of milking it dry._

_As if he intended to hurt her—even at that young an age._

_Shiori winced again, the lids of one of her eyes shutting on their own. She chose to smile through the pain._

_Little did she know that she would do just that, again and again… for the next nineteen years._

**20: The Slow but Beautiful Lover**  
Alternative Chapter Title: **Shiori  
**(Part 1 of 2)

That night, her words still rang all too clearly in his ears.

"… _you sabotage your relationships with women!"_

Lying stiff upon his own bed, with his arms folded behind his head, Kurama closed his eyes as the crisp winds of autumn danced into his bedroom window.

"_You want to protect them, but in your effort to protect them,_ you _hurt them_ yourself_."_

He nestled his head deeper into the cradle formed by his arms, the back of his palms touching the soft, downy pillow beneath. The long red locks that served as his sideburns coolly wafted with the wind.

"_And it's not just Kitajima_-san. _How many times have you kept the truth from your own mother and thus broken_ her _heart?"_

Upon hearing her mention the word "mother," years of long-dismissed memories resurfaced in his mind.

* * *

_Grass-green eyes as round as globes and twinkling like stars studied the rose-red blood trickling out of the thin yet long slit on a pudgy baby finger._

_The sixteen-month-old Minamino Shuuichi thought nothing of it._

_Without even checking to see if anyone was watching him, the demon fox-turned-human child brought his wounded pointer finger to his lips and casually licked a drop of blood off it._

_Just then, Shiori emerged from the kitchen with a heaping tray of freshly baked cookies._

_She almost dropped the tray._

"Ara!" _she exclaimed, rushing to her son's side and sinking to her knees before him and his raised pointed finger. "Shuuichi! Where did you hurt yourself?"_

_Without even waiting for his answer, she scurried to the staircase to retrieve their family first-aid kit from the second floor bathroom._

_The indifferent, apathetic Shuuichi tried calling after her. "No—no need—"_

_But she could no longer hear him._

_Nonchalant all the same, the beautiful boy who spoke beyond his years sighed in exasperation._ Her treatment of me is insulting. How old does this _ningen_ woman think I am? _He scoffed to himself._ Tending to my wounds is pointless… unnecessary.

* * *

_She would never admit it aloud, but bathing him had always been a tiresome ordeal._

"_Arms up!"_

_He followed her instructions, but refused to meet her eyes. Shiori had never understood why. For as long as she could remember, her innocent-looking now-three-year-old son had never been entirely at ease undressing before her—and all the more standing before her in the nude. Albeit the boy allowed her to strip him of his shirts, he always insisted to take off his jumpers, short or long pants—in fact, any article of clothing that started or ended below his waist—all by himself._

_Right now, she was gently tugging his favorite short-sleeved yellow T-shirt with the red rocket print up and away from his outstretched arms. Even now, he did not look her in the eye._

_As her young yet already bodily conscious son stepped out of his turquoise flannel pajama pants, a knowing Shiori resignedly turned her back on him and slowly eased her hand into his bath water. "It's getting warmer. You can get in now."_

_An eerily silent Shuuichi merely nodded to her in acknowledgment, and proceeded to swing one leg into their family bathtub._

_Her back still turned to him, the well-meaning yet unwelcome mother rose from her knees and headed to the door. She had already stepped out of their bathroom and was closing the door behind her when, from the corner of her eye, she spotted him suddenly shuddering from the shocking cold of the bath water and quickly, wildly shaking away moist, glistening beads and droplets off his damp hair and skin._

_An intrigued yet amused Shiori quietly giggled to herself._

"_Like a little puppy," she commented to no one in particular right when the door behind her clicked shut._

* * *

_Since he started preschool, he looked forward to coming home to that lone cherry tree in the Minamino backyard—the very one that Shiori had planted mere days after she had given birth to him, right after she was discharged from the hospital._

_It was the tallest tree in their garden now. His still-weak—but nonetheless working_—youki _had helped it both grow taller and branch out into the surreal, breathtakingly picturesque display it was today._

_The schoolboy dropped his backpack onto the grassy ground by the roots of the majestic_ sakura _tree imposed right before him, closed his eyes awhile to steel himself, and hoisted himself onto its lowest hanging branch, hanging on for dear life._

_His grip was disappointingly weak._

_It wasn't that he was tired from his full day at school—actually, it was the pathetic immaturity of his preschool peers that exhausted him more than anything else. However, his now_-ningen _body was still too frail and inflexible to execute the acrobatics that he had long taken for granted when he was still a_ youko.

_Suddenly, his_ ningen _mother's voice intruded in his thoughts._

"_Oh, you're home._ Okaeri nasai."

_Kurama climbed his way up to a higher branch and perched upon its edge closest to the tree trunk before looking down at—and upon—the woman in the apron emerging from the kitchen doorway._

"_How was school?"_

A banal question deserves just as banal a response. _The uninterested boy leaned his back against the trunk of the cherry tree before responding with his customary, hollow "Okay."_

_He never meant any of his "Okays." Yet she always took his word for it anyway._

Naïve ningen.

"_Are you hungry?" Shiori stopped a few steps away from the tree and beckoned for him to come down. "Come inside—I made you a snack."_

_Just then, a chilly gust of wind gently swayed the branches of the tree. Shiori tucked a loose, flyaway strand of hair behind her ear before stretching out both her arms, volunteering to catch her son if he chooses to jump down._

_The former_ youko_ pressed his back onto the tree even harder, trying to find the seating position that felt the most comfortable against the jagged, gnarly trunk. "Perhaps later," he dismissed her offer with a curt raise of his hand._ I have no interest in your empty attempts at intimacy.

I also need time to myself in order to check if I've regained enough of my _youki_ to get these cherry blossoms to bloom… _He told her only in his mind, absently fingering a tiny pink bud between his pointer and thumb._

_And just as she always did since he learned to climb, Shiori watched with wordless wonder as her son lost himself in his own little world once more. It was while he was up in that tree that Shuuichi always seemed the most distant… unreachable._

_Yet it was also then that he always seemed most at home._

* * *

"_Should I go check on the temperature?"_

"Iiya. _I'll do it myself."_

"_Would you like me to wash your back?"_

_For a split second, Shiori could have sworn that a frown of disapproval had crossed Shuuichi's features. If it actually did, it happened too fast for her to tell._

"_That won't be necessary."_

_The next thing she knew, her five-year-old son had shut the bathroom door right before her nose._

"_Sh—shall I bring you fresh c—"_

_The door lock went CLICK._

"—_lothes…?"_

_Aside from the endless gushing of tap water from their tub faucet, she could not hear a single sound from within that hallowed bathroom._

_The doting mother sighed to herself. Her precocious son was growing up faster than she thought._

* * *

_Her trusty wicker basket hanging by the crook of her right arm, Shiori flashed a graceful smile at the birds flying close by as she raised her left hand to shield her face from the glare of the blinding noonday sun._

"_What a pleasant day," the serenely smiling mother commented to her son striding alongside her. Five months had passed since her beloved Ryuuichi followed her father to heaven. After grieving for what felt like years, she decided that it was time for her and Shuuichi to finally stop wearing black and just enjoy a day in the sun._

_The pockets of his navy blue short pants too small for him to stuff his hands in, an uncomfortable Shuuichi instead balled his hands into fists at his sides._ Another day; another bout of boredom. I should have at least brought some book or other as a diversion.

_From the distance, Shiori could spot the other families that had come to gather around the Yukimi City Park. "Ah, there are the others," she pointed to a group of adults pushing baby strollers and children tossing balls at each other. "We haven't seen them in a while, have we?"_

_Kurama's gaze lowered… darkened._ Jitsu wa, I thought I would never see them again.

"_Now Shuuichi," the recent widow lightly patted the top lid of her picnic basket. "Just tell me if you or any of your friends are hungry—I packed enough sandwiches for everyone."_

_The unresponsive five-year-old merely nodded and held up his hand to indicate that he wasn't hungry at all._

_As the now-only two members of the Minamino household drew nearer to the wooden benches where the other park-goers sat down to rest, several mothers once busily chatting amongst themselves brightened up at the sight of them._

"_Hey, it's the Minaminos!"_

"_Shiori! Shuuichi! Over here!"_

"_Shiori_-san_! How have you been?"_

"_Oh, my! Shuuichi's gotten even taller!"_

"_And_ cuter_, too!"_

_One particularly naughty mother winked. "I could just_ eat_—him_—up_!"_

"Ara," _exclaimed Shiori, clapping a worried hand onto her own cheek while laughing airily in amusement. "Please don't do that, Ruri_-san_! If I lose him, I'll be all alone!"_

_The demon fox who had united with the body of a human boy sighed to himself. Last he checked, he had regained enough of his_ youki _to at least_ attempt _to escape back to_ Makai _any day now. His needlessly prolonged stay in_ Ningenkai _then frustrated him—most especially whenever he heard Minamino Shiori talk the way she did just now._

_Restless green eyes darted in all directions, seeking an opening for departure—or at least a distraction._

_Shiori noticed. "Shuuichi, would you like to play with the other children over there? I'll just be here if you need me."_

"_Yeah, my li'l girl's over there, too!" The woman beside Shiori gave him a teasing little nudge on the back, encouraging him to join the other humans closer to his own age on the playground. "You should go play with 'er—she jus' wouldn't stop talkin' about ya!"_

"_Go on," prodded another mother in their midst._

_Shuuichi sighed to himself again._ The trouble with being a human child… They think they can order me around, just like that. Little do they know that I _want_ to distance myself from them. _He turned to the only woman in the group whom he actually associated himself with in some way. "If you insist."_

"_Have fun," Shiori bade melodiously._

_And Kurama continued to eavesdrop on the adults even as he walked away from them:_

"_Ohhh, I remember when you and Shuuichi had your park debut as a family!" gushed one of them. "He was just the most beautiful baby I've ever seen!"_

"_He talks quite maturely for his age, doesn't he, Shiori_-san_?"_

"_Yes. He's a very smart boy. My pride and joy."_

_As the familiar sound of his human mother's voice died away into the distance, Kurama veered to the left of the park playground in an attempt to avoid the very children whom he was supposed to approach._

_But one of them recognized him._

"_Hey, it's Minamino!"_

_Kurama harrumphed to himself._ Sounds just like her mother.

_Other shrill, curious voices loomed closer… and closer._

"_Yeah!_ There _he is!"_

"_Hey, Shuuichi!"_

"_We haven't seen you in_ forever_!"_

"_Come and play with us!"_

"_Push me on the swing, Shuuichi!"_

"_Sit with me on the seesaw!"_

_And as he always did in such circumstances, Kurama held his hands up in apology. "Perhaps later. I would much rather be alone right now."_

_The children milling around him fell silent as he said no more and walked away, still trying—and failing—to jam his hands all the way inside his shorts pockets. Suddenly, the faces of the girls he had left behind saddened. Once he was out of their ranges of vision altogether, one of the boys crossed his arms before his chest and grunted loudly._

"_Hmph! You know, guys, I never really liked that Minamino kid! He thinks he's better than all of us!"_

_From several bushes away, Kurama could still hear them. He closed his eyes._

Humans. How quick they are to show their true colors.

"_YEAH! I jus'_ hate _it when Mom tells me to 'be more like 'im,' just 'cause he's smart an' good in class an' gets good grades an' all the girls like 'im—"_

"_He prob'bly thinks we're jus'_ dirt _compared t' him!"_

"_YEAH! Jus' 'cause he's 'cuuuter' than the rest of us or somethin'!"_

"_I say we_ get _'im!"_

_A chorus of voices cheered in perfect unison. "YEAH!"_

"_So what's the plan?"_

_Now on one knee atop a tree branch, Kurama rested his hand against the gnarly bark of the tree trunk and opened his eyes once more._

These youth… Malice in its rawest of form.

Well, better make this quick. And quiet.

* * *

"_NGH!"_

"_LET—ME—GO!"_

"_How did this happen?! I don' get it!"_

"_HEEEEELLLP!"_

"_SOMEBODY GET US OUTTA HERE!"_

_From atop the same tree branch as before, the five-year-old Kurama now stood tall, his hands cupping both his elbows. Several bushes and shrubs away, the necks and limbs of four boys were thoroughly tangled amidst a leafy maze of wild foliage and vinery, their tied-up legs helplessly dangling several feet off the grass ground._

_On high alert, green eyes darted in all directions, checking to see if anyone had witnessed the supernatural specter that had just taken place in the park._

Time for my escape.

_Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he spotted a head of long, mousy brown hair from right underneath him—on the same tree as him himself. A small, short human girl was comfortably plopped upon the soil between the thick, winding roots of the tree; her back slouched against its trunk._

_Suspicious green eyes narrowed._

_Just then, the little girl of two or three scrambled to her knees—soiling her denim jumper in the process—and struggled to hoist herself into a standing position on her feet, her knees wobbling from her own upper body weight. One of the suspenders of her jumper falling off her shoulder, the silent, solitary child awkwardly waddled like a duckling through the trees towards a faraway park bench, where a man in his early forties with hair just as mousy brown as hers sat and waited._

"_Ah, there you are," chimed the woman seated beside the brunette man, straddling her own baby in her arms. "Your father was very worried."_

_The little girl who once shared the tree with Kurama said nothing in response. With her hair reaching all the way down her back, past her waist, the whole lot spilled over before her face as she bowed before both adults and earnestly handed a small notepad to her father with both hands._

_He took the pad from her. "What did you draw this time?" He turned to his female companion now cradling her baby's head over her shoulder. "She loves to draw. Takes after her mother. She was an architect."_

_The widowed father swept his daughter's Rapunzel-esque hair back behind her and tugged her fallen jumper suspender up her arm and over her pink undershirt as both he and his fellow parent studied the contents of his daughter's scribbling pad. Using a pencil, the child had sketched a rough portrait of her own left hand holding a pencil and drawing… her own left hand, holding a pencil and drawing… her own left hand, holding a pencil and drawing… her own left hand, holding a pencil and drawing…_

_Her drawing was a drawing of a drawing of a drawing of a never-ending drawing._

_Both her father and the lady beside him shared a (stunned) moment of silence._

_When the lady had found her own voice again, she turned to the little girl—whose other denim suspender had just fallen off her other shoulder. "This is…" She fished for the word that would best express herself._ "… interesting."

_The uncommunicative little girl frowned slightly. She did not seem to like the lady's reaction to her drawing._

_The father yanked his daughter's other fallen suspender back up her shoulder. "I let you walk around the park to find some 'inspiration' for your drawing, so I thought you'd draw something you see here, like a flower. Or a tree," he admitted, patting her on the head. "You didn't have to wander off so far just to draw your own hand, you know."_

_The woman chuckled. "Your father meant to say that he was worried when he couldn't see you—when you weren't by his side." Her baby, whose chin rested on her shoulder and whose back she cupped to her chest, suddenly burped a milky bubble behind her. "Next time, don't leave your father, okay? You're the only family he has now. He'll be very sad and lonely without you."_

_Despite her age, the toddler nodded at the lady with tacit yet total understanding. This time, both her suspenders fell off her shoulders._

_Kurama watched them no more. His own human mother's words reverberated in his ears:_

"If I lose him, I'll be all alone!"

_He vanished._

* * *

She could still feel the residual warmth of his demon-human hand in her own.

"A very manly hand indeed."

Still seated before her card table, the elderly fortuneteller studied her own wizened, grisly reflection in her crystal ball once more. Her dark, intricately woven veil concealed all but her now-coal black eyes, the deep-set crinkles above them, and the dry crows' feet below them. Oh, and that one glaringly big, hairy mole that stood out from under her left eye.

"Disgusting," the illustrious mystic spat to the ball. "Get away from my sight."

Upon her command, the mirror image emanating from the crystal ball ebbed into smoky oblivion.

"Now," the dry, shriveled hand clenched into a tight fist. "Who grovels before me _this_ time?"

Just then, her enchanted crystal ball shone, glowing a soft yet vibrant orange and gold. From within the mysterious orb emerged an image of a human man in his mid-thirties seated before a poker table, a woman on each arm, and two Queens lying face-down on the table beside his very subtly fidgeting hand.

The aged psychic could overhear the gambler's voice all the way from his ritzy, glitzy casino. "All in," he spat coolly out loud. But in his heart of hearts, all he chanted over and over were the words: _"Come_ on, _baby—Daddy needs a new Lamborghini!"_

The tired old woman rolled her eyes and heaved a heavy sigh.

"You shan't need it. You die tonight."

Suddenly, the uniformed dealer assigned to that very table flipped two pairs of playing cards right side up: the high-roller's Queen of hearts and spades, and his lone challenger's Jack of diamonds and clubs.

And just as suddenly, the man sporting pitch-black shades and sitting on the other end of that poker table took out from the inner breast pocket of his suede coat a silver Colt Python revolver that glistened under the casino strobe lights, pulled its trigger, and shot the very gambler who had just prayed to Lady Luck.

Coal-black eyes studied the gleam of the gun as a satisfied smile tugged on the soothsayer's desiccated lips.

"See? I told you so."

With a grand wave of her shriveled hand, the scene that had just played in her camera-like crystal ball blurred out of focus, then out of her sight altogether.

"You got what you deserved, you chauvinist. _That_'s what you get for calling me 'baby'."

Suddenly, on the surface of the crystal ball rolled an entire film featuring countless other creatures great and small, young and old, male and female, human and demon. "Who else prostrates before me today?" The mystic asked no one in particular. "Gambler… Gambler… Yet another gambler—oh, when shall they ever leave me be?" Coal-black eyes glazed over, sucked into a bottomless abyss of boredom. "Oh, you have a licensure examination tomorrow? Just study for it, _ningen_—I can only do so much. What about _you_, then…? You want to win that trophy? Too bad—the two-time champion deserves a three-peat. You two have been married five years and still have no child? Sorry, you dialed the wrong number. I want no part in your repulsive honeymoons. Do yourselves a favor—look up the Goddess of Fertility in my stead. And how about _you_, my little one? Oh, you want your Papa to finally win the lottery tonight so that he can pay off your bills soon?"

The sickly, thin-faced child within her crystal ball coughed into his weakly, loosely curled fist, his entire brittle body involuntarily jolting away from his hospital bed from the sheer severity of his convulsions.

"But you're so _cute_…" gushed the oracle to the bedridden boy. "I rather want you here. With me."

The very moment those words trickled from her tongue, the electrocardiograph monitor situated beside the ailing five-year-old let out a long, loud BEEEEEEEEEEEP.

As the now-comatose cherub collapsed onto his pillows one last time, the prophetess drew another heavy, discontented sigh.

"This is all so deathly boring. It's not enough."

She felt for his warmth in her hand once more.

"It's just not enough!"

* * *

"_But how much longer shall you prolong your agony? He has already aged two mortal years as we speak. Shall you meet him once he turns five? Fifty-five? Five hundred fifty-five? Oh, but he is now human. He shan't live that long."_

_A frown crossed her face._

"_I'll wait."_

_A knowing eyebrow cocked up._

"_Oh, really now?"_

"_I'll wait for him to shed his humanity. You said it yourself—he won't live all that long. He'll live just until a hundred plus, tops."_

"_You cannot do that. Two mortal years ago, you could not even sit still while watching that militiaman hound him to his doom."_

_Her frown deepened. Unfortunately, her companion spoke the truth._

"_You certainly were not thinking ahead when you all too willingly handed him your_ Toki no Suna—"

"_I don't regret it one bit."_

"_But now_ you _have no way of becoming human. Your one chance—and you_ gave _it to him!"_

_She sank her upper teeth into her bottom lip, contemplating the absolute worst._ Dare… Dare I say it...?

_Only after a long, tense while did she finally break her silence._

"_How much for yours?"_

_Her companion harrumphed in smug satisfaction._

"_It shan't come cheap."_

"_Name your price."_

"_The mutt."_

_Green eyes narrowed. Drops of stale blood slowly trickling off her right, she clenched her fists tightly at her sides._

"_And_ you _shall bring him to me personally."_

* * *

"AAAAAAAAHHH!"

She thudded against her wine-stained carpet, the old, tired wooden floorboards creaking under her weight. Another loud thump—this time, her wrinkled forehead had struck the foot of her card table—echoed across her poorly lit shop as smoky, powder-like clouds of dust scattered off her long-unwashed rug and clung to her silk robe and veil. One careless whiff of this dust mingling with the sour stench of long-fermented grapes on matted thread sent a fit of hacking—wheezing—choking! coughs straight out of her throat. A pale, bony palm, shriveled through the years, trembled as it inched up—slowly, weakly—and clapped over a now hollow eye socket.

"MY—! MY _EYE_!"

Her tiny, tinny voice, its throaty rasp telling of a ripe old age, came out not as a scream—the scream that it should have been, that she had intended to be—but a mere croak.

Her only remaining coal-black eye fogged in pain. A cold, sticky pool of blood oozed from her empty eye socket, soiling the dark silken veil hiding the lower half of her face from her clients. She felt it all, dripping, dribbling down her cheek and off her chin. It felt like gelatin. Morbidly disgusting gelatin.

That glaringly big, hairy mole under what was once her left eye now stood out more prominently than ever. But she could not tell for sure. Not with one missing eye.

The unfortunate fortuneteller struggled to stand, but her legs—already ailing and failing her even before this incident, now shakier and less reliable than ever—could no longer carry the rest of her brittle body. Gnashing her teeth in desperation, with what little strength she had left in her, the feeble elder crawled towards the light.

She _had_ to let them know. The prophecy was upon them.

The Eternals were doomed.

* * *

"Ugh."

A sudden electric twinge shot across Mayonaka Setsuki's eyes. The college freshman squeezed them shut awhile, and blinked the pain away.

It didn't work.

"Setsu-_chan_?" piped up a curious Sanae to her right. "What's wrong?"

"_Iie_." A small reassuring smile automatically curling her lips, Setsu shook her head no while resisting an intense urge to sway from dizziness. "This is nothing, _sempai_. Don't mind me."

The veins behind her eyeballs still throbbing to the frantic beat of a heart not her own, Setsu glanced up towards the nearest ceiling light of the Meiou _Daigaku_ Library of the Arts. The long bulb was blackening on one end. And the black would soon spread to the rest of the bulb from there.

The silently musing student sank her upper teeth into her lower lip in thought, her eyes still dry, itchy, and hot—each an irritant on its own, more so when endured all together.

_Is something happening to us?_

* * *

Someone had tripped off the royal burglar alarm.

Only three could have. And one of them had long breathed his last.

The Great Enma Daiou slipped His wire-rimmed spectacles on and, for a long, wordless while, stared at the bulb-sized rectangular warning device that had never sent a single distress signal for all the millennia He had occupied His throne. This was the first time that that glaringly red light—that light He so feared to see, that light with the hue of human blood—blinked and spun and flashed, stretching the scope of that dreadful beam long beyond its alarm box. Its siren whirred and blared across His Majesty's regal chamber, the scandalous ring bouncing off His ivory walls and filling His ears to no end.

As the alarm blinked and spun and flashed on and on, a single long red shadow crossed His face and blinded His eyes over and over again, every time the rotating light came full circle. Compared to His very magnitude—the sheer size of His physical build alone, more so the power He wielded over creatures and worlds—the alarm in His private room was small, so small that no one but He was aware that it was even there. Yet He feared it. He scorned the mere timber of its sound.

"THE DAY HAS COME," declared the god among gods, more to Himself than to His kingdom, the intensity of His placid voice enough to shatter earths and transcend dimensions despite His mere aim of talking to Himself. He pushed His eyeglasses up His nose bridge and closed His eyes—He could take no more of that doomsday display, that ephemeral light that hailed everlasting darkness. "CENTURIES SOONER THAN FORESEEN."

The lush olive-green drop curtain draped before His Majesty's stature slowly rose as He Himself arose from His throne. As soon as His human-animal godly face emerged from behind the blinds, a reaper clad in a somber black _kimono_ ghosted from behind the farthest wall in His chamber.

The apparition in the form of a raven-haired human woman with a slender frame held her record notebook closer to her, pressing its thread-weaved spine against the _obi_ sash binding her slim waist as she shuffled towards His Royal Majesty in her slippers of twine. Phantom eyes the hue of sapphires met the King's bespectacled own.

"You called, Enma-_sama_," said Ayame, oldest and overseer of all _shinigami_. It should have been, but did not turn out, a question. She had meant to ask His Highness _why_ He had summoned for her, but at the last minute, chose to simply announce her arrival instead. The ominous shaft of red light from the royal burglar alarm blinded her each time it flickered across her eyes.

"GATHER THE GODS AND TOP MANAGEMENT TO THE ROYAL SYNCORDING ROOM," barked the god of all gods in His calm yet booming tone of command.

"The Royal Syncording Room, my Lord?" Ayame _had_ to ask. _No one_ had ever been allowed in there before! Except that one time…

"MY ORDER IS ABSOLUTE AND FINAL," declared Enma Daiou, to end her questions.

A troubled look crossed Ayame's delicate features. Enma Daiou had not demanded the presence of the Gods _and_ Top Management all in the same room since _that_ time He had meted out His ultimate punishment for the sins of that wretch…! She now clutched her trusty notebook closer to her heart, her self-possessed composure wavering the more that the meaning behind the distress call sunk into her mind. "Shall I assemble the reapers as well, my Lord?"

"ALL OF THEM."

_All_ of them? She needed specifics. "The executives in charge of footwork and Retrieval of the Dead, Sir, or even the earth-bound _shinigami_?"

"THE FATE OF ALL WORLDS LIES IN THE BALANCE." His hands behind His back, the ruler of the Spirit World stepped away from His throne and looked out the majestic balcony of His window. Two bolts of black lightning forked apart and struck a faraway land in His kingdom as the alarm system within His chamber flickered on behind Him. "A CATACLYSM OF THIS MAGNITUDE LEAVES ME NO CHOICE. CALL IN EVERY BEING WHO HOLDS A SEAT OF POWER IN MY PALACE. AT ONCE."

He needed say no more. Ayame knew what to do. She was not to bother the ogres with this matter, but the attendance of even the retired and earth-bound _shinigami_ was a must. "Yes, Sir. I shall send for them right away."

With neither further question nor delay, the dutiful subordinate bowed her head low as a gesture of both deferential respect and temporary farewell, then promptly exited His royal chamber by ghosting through the wall once more.

Enma Daiou did not even watch her leave. Another thunderclap shook His land as He closed His eyes again, trying in vain to get away from it all.

"THAT ETERNAL HAS CAUSED US TROUBLE ONCE MORE."

Still folded behind His back, the king of the underworld clenched His hands into fists.

"IT DESERVES NO MERCY."

* * *

"What a curious letter you gave me, Minamino," Kaitou Yuu pushed his thick-rimmed spectacles closer to his nose as Kurama quietly pulled up the seat across him and sat. "Neither was it from you, nor was it addressed to me!"

Green eyes darted left and right. The study table nearest the balcony of the highest floor of the Meiou _Daigaku_ Arts Library served as a strategic vantage point—not only did he have a bird's eye view of the entire library and all students and staff rummaging through its bookshelves; he and Kaitou were also far enough from a certain familiar nonhuman from _Reikai_ for her not to catch earshot of them, yet near enough for them to monitor her every move.

Kaitou slotted the slip of paper in between the pages of the book in his hands, concealing it from any chance passersby. "I cannot quite grasp why the letter-sender referred to himself as 'Time.' Is he the anthropomorphic personification of the abstract concept of 'time' itself? An embodied being that—or who—had proven himself physically capable of at least composing a visibly tangible letter?"

"I had translated it from a specially sealed scroll stored in the _Reikai_ palace archives." Kurama watched Kaitou studying his own transliteration of the ancient otherworldly parchment, the bespectacled word wizard's nose buried into the hardcover novel that hid it from everyone's view. "He must have also been the one who sealed it."

A smirk of pleasure twisted Kaitou's lips. For once, Minamino actually needed him and sought his interpretation of the unbelievable document. For once, the king needed the second in line for the academic throne. Oh, how the tables have turned. It was perfect. "The 'parents' indicated in the letter," he pointed out. "Mother Nature and Father Time—in the flesh!"

Kurama nodded. "I figured as much."

Kaitou's eyes returned to the text at hand. "And this so-called 'Father Time' addressed this to his three 'children,' who were 'born one moment after the other.' I take this to mean they are triplets—the anthropomorphic personifications of Past, Present, and Future!" He tilted his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and toned his voice down so as not to catch attention. "They even have a birth order!"

"Note, however," Kurama crossed his legs and weaved his fingers together, as if in prayer, and propped his clasped hands onto his lap. "That the 'eldest' child is not the Deity of the Past, but the Future—"

"Succeeded by that of the Present who, according to this very letter, we can safely assume as dead—"

"And the youngest is the Deity of the Past."

"All this makes for your typical children's fairytale, if you ask me." A chuckle got the better of Kaitou. He particularly enjoyed thinking along the same wavelength as his longtime rival. "Its entire premise seems right up the ranks with old wives' tales and bedtime stories. These characters take me back to good old Charles Dickens' Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come!"

Kurama nodded curtly and fell silent. The authority on literature was now getting into his groove.

"Even classic Greek and Roman mythologies come to mind." Kaitou went on, his eyelids shutting on their own. "I take the oldest Eternal to be a singular representation of the Fates, or the Weird Sisters—Greek equivalent _Moirai_; Roman equivalent _Parcae_—the three mythical goddesses who purportedly hold the fate of all mankind. Clotho, who spins the thread that symbolizes one's life. Lachesis, who decides the length of that thread—the very duration of one's life. And Atropos, who cuts the thread to end it."

This was it. Kaitou Yuu was now officially in the zone.

"Whereas the youngest Eternal," the bespectacled scholar cracked one eye open just to check if his listener was still there. "Loudly resounds of Mnemosyne, the Greek goddess of Memory, mother to the nine Muses."

"Go on." Kurama finally said, just to reassure the master of the written word that he still had an audience.

"The Muses, protectors of the arts. Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry. Clio, of history. Erato, of lyric and love poetry. Euterpe, of music—the flute in particular. Melpomene, of tragedy. Polyhymnia, of singing, mime, and sacred dance. Terpsichore, of dance and choral song. Thalia, of comedy and pastoral poetry. And Urania, of astronomy."

"Mother of the arts…" murmured Kurama to himself, reminiscing of one certain artistically and musically inclined someone in their lives. "Now, the question is…"

Two pairs of nineteen-year-old eyes lowered their gazes towards the ground floor of the library, searching for a familiar seventeen-year-old mop of mousy brown hair amid the hushed crowd.

"… Which one of them could she be?"

* * *

A stack of textbooks weighing down on both her hands, Sanae suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Oh!"

"_Hn_?" Beside her, Setsu followed the direction of Sanae's eyes with her own.

From two floors above, both of them spotted Kaitou and Kurama trading looks with them. A vast, verdant meadow met eye to eye with a cloudless midday sky.

"It's Minamino-_sama_." The former Vice President of the Minamino Shuuichi Forever And Ever And Ever Fan Club, who had just recently been terminated and banned from the club _ad infinitum_ on the grounds of highest treason, sighed dreamily, instinctively yet shyly tucking a loose strand of hair behind her own ear—and dropping three of her books in the process. "Over there."

"_Somebody_'s early today," remarked Setsu, checking the time on her wristwatch as she crouched down and picked up her English classmate's fallen books. "It's just a few minutes past noon."

"Yes. He usually arrives just in time for our English class at one." Still lost in her love-struck trance, the infatuated Kurama fangirl accepted her books from Setsu absent-mindedly. "Oh, Setsu-_chan_… Don't you think he's just so handsome, even from this far away…?"

"Uhhh…" Setsu did not know what to answer to that. "Okaaay… If you say so…" Chuckling to herself, the half-awkward, half-amused freshman shifted her focus onto the two male Meiou students eyeing them from afar and merely mouthed her next words slowly, by the syllable:

"'_Ne_'—'_sem'-'pai'-'ta-'chi_'." Voicelessly, she tapped her wristwatch, and then pretended to rub her own belly. "'Have'—'you'—'two'—'eat'-'en'—'lunch'—'yet'?"

From several feet away, her message ended up ridiculously unintelligible to Kaitou. He turned to Kurama. "Is—is she asking us something…? I cannot seem to…"

Beside the word wizard, the expert lip-reader curtly nodded once to answer in the affirmative, and another time to express his thanks.

Setsu grinned and gave him a thumbs-up in response, then proceeded to sheepishly drag away a speechless, still heart-shape-eyed Sanae to the public access computers in their floor.

* * *

The two decipherers picked up from where they had left off.

"If she truly is one of _these_—" A skeptical Kaitou gave the letter paper a light slap in great disbelief. "—then she must be _as old as time itself_! _Thousands upon thousands_ of years old—maybe more!"

"Give or take a few years, yes."

Kaitou cupped his chin in his hand, as if tugging on an invisible beard. Something just dawned on him. "So when she calls us '_sempai_'…"

Kurama quietly chuckled at Kaitou's realization. _Imagine an ancient spirit, who may have existed well before the birth of the universe itself,_ _not even thinking twice before addressing us as her "upperclassmen elders"…_ "It's an irony. She's being sarcastic. Just to throw us off."

* * *

Sanae needed to check the online card catalog of the Meiou _Daigaku_ Library, but all the public access computers were already occupied by other students who had beaten her to the chase.

"Which book are you looking for?" Setsu asked as she set down her notebook and trusty pencil with the chewed-out eraser tip onto a nearby study desk.

"'_The Elements of Style_' by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White," Sanae read verbatim from the course syllabus of her Composition class. "Preferably the latest edition—the fourth."

"Ah." The college freshman recognized the title. "A must-read for all college students writing papers."

"I need to copy its ISBN from the database," Sanae continued to eye the row of student workstations before them. "But no one seems to be finishing up on the card catalog computers anytime soon…"

Setsu bit her bottom lip in thought. _How can I do this without making it too obvious…?_

Suddenly, she hurriedly combed through the pages of her notebook and stopped at a random page—a page with an illustration of a garden. She stared at it intently.

"I believe I have it, _sempai_. Here you go."

She feigned reading from the actually number-less page.

"Zero dash three, two, one dash two, four, eight, six, one dash nine."

As soon as the last number escaped her lips, Setsu flipped the notebook shut.

Sanae brightened up as she busily jotted down the list of numbers onto her syllabus. "Thanks, Setsu-_chan_! You're really heaven-sent!"

The helpful nonhuman half-smiled in gratitude, only one of her dimples showing. _I appreciate the compliment, but it isn't too accurate. "Heaven" doesn't actually approve of me being here._

"What were the last three numbers again?"

Without further warning, Sanae borrowed Setsu's decoy notebook and thumbed through its pages, looking for the one with the ISBN she had just copied—the page with the garden drawing.

"Here, _sempai_—let me."

Sweat beading on her brow, an uncomfortable Setsu took her own notebook away from the possession of her nosy but well-meaning new friend to hide it from view, but it slipped both their grasps and accidentally landed on the floor spread open—right at the page Sanae needed to see again—with an unexpectedly loud smack. The librarian behind the nearest counter shot them a pointed look as fair warning.

"_Mengo_." Typically icy blue eyes acknowledged the look warmly… apologetically. She turned back to her companion. "Six, one dash nine," the notebook owner answered without even looking at the page.

Sanae got back to writing. "Wow. You remember things like that easily, Setsu-_chan_."

_You don't know the half of it._

* * *

Now in between the "S" and "T" bookshelf aisles by herself, Sanae glided her finger along the spines of the paperbacks lined up in neat rows before her eyes.

"Strunk… Strunk…" she chanted to herself as she searched.

Suddenly, something from her most recent memories struck her just then.

She saw no numbers on that page.

* * *

The librarians were now on their lunch break.

The security guard stationed at the ground floor entrance hall of the Meiou _Daigaku_ Library of the Arts locked up as soon as the last of the students inside—namely, the busily discussing Kaitou and Kurama—finally stepped out of the main doors.

"A succubus? An ogress?" Until now, the unconvinced Kaitou refused to believe his ears. "Granted, she's proven herself out of the ordinary to some extent, but are you not propping her up on too high a pedestal here, Minamino? From what _I_'ve made of this, this letter ultimately insinuates that she's some sort of _god_!"

Kurama remained silent, giving his human ally time for it all to sink in.

The lenses of his spectacles hiding his eyes from view, Kaitou pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and cleared his throat. "Make no mistake, however. Hard as it may be for me to picture Mayonaka-_kun_ in my mind as some 'mortal goddess,' I am not necessarily disputing your idea."

"You saw her take the form of her own best friend with your own eyes, did you not?" Kurama pointed out. "I myself have been witness to another of her appearances." A green gaze fell upon own his hands. He could still feel those endless strands of crimson slipping from his grasp.

"We could safely say she assumes identities other than her own." Kaitou finally agreed with him.

"The Eternals are chameleons… shape-shifters. And that's but one of their many powers."

"Say, Minamino, you suppose what we see is only Mayonaka-_kun_'s disguise?"

Kurama closed his eyes. He did not know how to answer that, so he didn't.

"If it is," Kaitou continued anyway. "Then I must say she _could_ have chosen a better one. Nay—she _should_ have chosen a better one. A more universally aesthetically enjoyable one, at least."

A smile pulled on the corners of Kurama's lips. Hagiri Kaname needed not worry about finding a romantic rival in Kaitou Yuu one bit.

The two had already mutually postponed their discussion for later by the time they arrived at the classroom of their advanced English course. Following them into the door was their most notorious female classmate Matsudaira Akiho, perched like a queen atop her royal red pillow, which was being carried, as it always was, by her four menservants from the Meiou varsity football team. The four minions lowered their hold of her velvet throne as they entered the doorway of their beloved belle's English classroom.

The President of the Minamino Shuuichi Forever And Ever And Ever Fan Club pointedly refused to meet Kurama's eyes.

Green eyes were already tearing away from the door when they spotted Setsu who, with one hand, was unzipping a purple duffel bag slung over her shoulder and stuffing a sketchpad still flipped open inside her bag with the other, emerging from the other corridor and following the theatrical procession inside their room—

—just in time for the silently seething Akiho to slam the door right on her face.

A sudden thud called everyone's attention to the now-closed classroom door. Its brass knob jiggled and turned as more heads whirled towards the scene.

"Oh, jeez," grumbled Setsu under her breath as she strode into their room, still forcibly stashing her now-scrunched up sketchpad among the books and colored pencils now peeking out and threatening to spill out from her unzipped duffel bag, and gingerly massaging a bulbous, juicy tomato where her nose used to be.

Turning to his seatmate, Kaitou gestured towards that walking mess.

"See, Minamino, why I have difficulty picturing _her_ as some sort of god?"

* * *

Professor Lerner was running late. Class was supposed to have begun twenty or so minutes ago, but he had not yet arrived. Kurama decided not to waste more time. He got up from his seat and exited their classroom.

Without a word, a knowing Kaitou folded his notebook shut and followed suit.

Upon stepping out their door, the word wizard turned the corner to find his colleague bent forward and picking something up from the polished marble ground of their hallway; the latter's long red forelocks gracefully brushing against the floor.

Kurama rose, now playfully fingering a green pencil between his pointer and thumb. He sighed.

"What's the matter, Minamino?" The bespectacled boy pushed his glasses up his nose bridge, eyeing the pencil curiously.

A small, secret smile curling his lips, Kurama merely tucked the pencil into the breast pocket of his school polo shirt. "_Iiya_. It's nothing." He brought them both back to the matter at hand. "Where were we?"

Both Meiou undergrads cautiously inched further away from their classroom. Kaitou lowered his head and muffled his own voice.

"I noted quite a number of differences between the Deity of the Present—the one specified in the letter as '_Kyou_'—and the two nameless gods. For one, only Kyou possessed a name. And only _he_ was clearly stated to be male. The other two gods—or goddesses—were distinctly addressed as 'son-daughters' and 'daughter-sons' interchangeably all throughout the letter."

Kurama nodded in agreement. "And these differences are due to the fact that the Deity of the Present had already been…" He paused. The term about to pass his lips simply bothered him that much. "… 'summoned'."

"This act of 'summoning'…" The manuscript interpreter went on. "… bequeathed him not only a name, but also a body or form. However, what transpired seemed to have been some sort of give-and-take. He was 'stripped' of his 'powers' and subjected to a form of condemnation I cannot identify as of yet."

"Whatever it was…" Kurama cupped his chin in thought. "We know for sure that it ultimately led to his demise."

Both of them shared a pregnant, thoughtful moment of silence.

Kaitou was the first to break the ice. "Which in turn begs the question—"

"_How_ is an Eternal 'summoned'?" finished Kurama.

* * *

From inside their classroom, a bored Setsu slouching against the backrest of her desk suddenly stopped gnawing on the blunt tip of her drawing pencil.

Ne. _Aside from my sister-in-law,_ you _of all people should know the answer to that._

* * *

"That 'summoning'," mused Kaitou. "It sounds like a significant—a drastic!—event in the life of an Eternal. Could it be a rite of passage, a requirement for growing up? But then why would the 'father' of the Eternals _not_ want his children to undergo it? Does he forever want them to remain his children?"

"But the Eternals are immortal. And therefore ageless," reminded Kurama. "Essentially."

"Is the 'summoning' an act of rebellion?" Kaitou went on. "Is he afraid that they will rebel against him?"

"According to the fate that befell upon Kyou, one of the consequences of this 'summoning' is that it turns an Eternal _mortal_." Kurama pointed out. "But is _that_ all it does to them?"

"I daresay there's also a certain stigma attached to this 'summoning' phenomenon. It is most likely a nefarious, or even criminal, act… a taboo." Kaitou paused awhile, mentally noting to himself that he had just uttered his favorite word. "A 'divine demotion', if you will. It returns to me an image of an angel, fallen from grace."

_An "angel"…_

Suddenly, the Dark Angel himself—Sensui Shinobu—resurfaced from the deepest trenches of Kurama's mind. Mayonaka-_san_ despised Sensui like anything. _If you knew Kaitou was analogizing you to "that monster"…_

Kaitou cleared his throat uncomfortably before continuing.

"Could it be a metaphor for rape?" At this point, his opaque spectacle lenses hid his eyes from view. "That the 'summoning' of an Eternal is when it loses its virginity? Consider it from _beyond_ a human perspective. It could be something along the lines of a 'spiritual' virginity instead of a literally physical virginity, since they did not have tangible bodies to 'deflower' in the first place," Kaitou squared his shoulders as his way of shrugging to himself. "After all, this 'summoning' leads to them acquiring a sex, a gender, a face, and a body."

"A brilliant insight," admitted Kurama. "But I don't believe that this 'summoning' _violates_ an Eternal in any way. If this event was as traumatizing and taboo as a 'spiritual rape,' then none of the Eternals would want it."

Charcoal eyes remained veiled beneath glass lenses.

"Kaitou, this letter from Father Time expressly _forbids_ his children from being 'summoned.' That must mean that the Eternals themselves could possibly _want_ it—they could desire it, wish it upon themselves," reasoned Kurama. "It says here that when an Eternal is 'summoned,' he or she is said to have 'succumbed to mortal desire'. This then asks the Eternals to be numb—to deaden themselves from their own desires!"

He went on.

"You may be right in assigning a negative connotation to this 'summoning.' That should be why Time Incarnate himself disapproves of it. _Shikashi_, he also implied that his own children would actually _pursue_ it if given the opportunity. After all, it _has_ already happened to one of them, the middle child, the god named Kyou. If only we could find out _his_ story…"

Two pairs of eyes gazed off into the farthest end of the English Institute hallway.

"That would clear a lot of things."

* * *

Clapping one hand over her growingly gaping mouth, the now misty-eyed doodler yawned in silence as she swept tiny specks of rubber eraser dust off her desk with her other hand.

_Oh, you can ask him yourself. Anytime._

_You'll first have to get his host to cooperate, though._

_Except_ that _guy isn't too open to negotiations. Might be easier to just knock the daylights out of him._

* * *

"For all their power, these Eternals must lead such despondent lives." Kaitou shook his head to himself. "Past and Future Incarnate, respectively the historian and the prophet, doomed to forever live their immortal lives in isolation and forbiddance…"

Green eyes narrowed. "They're not allowed to leave the Spirit World. They're not allowed to mingle with other existing beings. Not humans. Demons. Other gods. No one at all."

"I must admit, malicious tongues may call _me myself_ a recluse, but my way of life is of my own volition—I _choose_ to simply stay in my room and read books all day. Truth be told, I cannot even imagine living in forced seclusion for all my life—especially if the 'life' in question is never-ending, or something along those lines. I'd get bored out of my mind."

Kurama hung his head low.

They shared a second pregnant, thoughtful moment of silence. An unspoken loneliness hung in the air.

Suddenly, something struck him.

"Kaitou…" He started slowly. "Could she have escaped from the Spirit World because she wanted a _different_ life?"

"The life of a human? It's possible. Probable, even." Kaitou quietly chortled to himself from his next theory. "For all we know, she could have fallen in love with a human and decided to spend the rest of her days with him!"

Vacant green eyes stared off into the distance once more.

_The Sniper…?_

* * *

Wiping away the grain from her eye using the knuckle of her pointer finger, the bored doodler finally leaned back onto the backrest of her chair and admired her near-finished work.

Now where was her green colored pencil just when she was about to shade in his eyes?

_Iie_.

* * *

"Tell me, Kaitou. Time Incarnate specifically emphasized that Eternals gain strength of their powers from being 'worshipped.' But _how_ are they worshipped? More importantly, how could anyone 'worship' them if they are strictly forbidden from engaging in any form of contact or relation with anyone apart from the Royal Family of the Spirit World?"

Kurama cupped his chin in thought. _To put it another way: How could anyone worship them if no one even knows they_ exist_?_

Kaitou did not have the answer either. "Who knows?"

* * *

Top of head more than two feet above the ground? Check. Hair all swept back and salon-styled? Check. Princely robes? Check. Trusty red scarf for crossing over to other worlds? Check. Little blue pacifier in mouth? Check. Annoying assistant pestering him to no end? Check, check, and _check_.

"Come _on_, Koenma-_sama_!" Saotome Jorge whined amidst a repetitive synthetic female voice in the background. "If _you_ get to go to _Ningenkai_, why can't I?"

The loudspeaker seemed to have heard his question.

"ALL REAPERS AND TOP MANAGEMENT, PLEASE PROCEED TO THE SYNCORDING ROOM AT ONCE. I REPEAT, ALL REAPERS AND TOP MANAGEMENT, PLEASE PROCEED TO THE SYNCORDING ROOM AT ONCE."

That "urgent announcement" blaring from the loudspeaker for what seemed the ninetieth time was getting on Koenma's nerves. Now assuming his handsome adolescent form, the Prince of _Reikai_ turned his heels to leave, tossing his trusty red neck scarf over and behind his shoulder. "Stay here, Jorge. See what my father wants."

"But I'm not even invited to that assembly!" groaned the ogre. "You _never_ let me come with you!"

"One of us must stay and see what's going on. And I've planned this sort-of 'get-together' for quite some time now! I'm not letting even _my father_ stop me from going!"

Besides, he had a bone to pick with Kurama! About the scroll he stole!

He turned his back on his horned subordinate, secretly murmuring to himself.

"And knowing my Pop, that poor thing's gonna get punished… and I don't wanna be here to see it."

With that, he strode out of his office, leaving behind a muscled monster still pathetically begging on his hands and knees.

"NOOOOO! TAKE ME WITH YOUUU!" Jorge called out after him, even reaching out towards his back. "Or at least bring me back a full-course steak dinner!"

A huge spider vein suddenly pulsing on his temple, the Prince of the Spirit World glared at his aide over his shoulder. He had _zero_ intention of honoring that.

The ogre shrank to the size of a mouse and, gulping nervously, squeaked:

"A cheeseburger and fries?"

* * *

Suddenly, a buzzing vibration pressed against his thigh.

Shooting a glance down towards the source of the startling sensation, Kurama fished for his silently ringing mobile phone from inside his side pants pocket. He answered the call and pressed his phone to his ear. "_Otouto_, I'm in class."

Hatanaka Shuuichi panicked on the line. "Sorry, _'Nii-san_, but it's urgent! You know where _itoko_ could possibly be?"

"She's in this very room as we speak." A closed-eyed Kurama answered calmly. "Our class will begin at any time."

"Get her on the phone for me, _'Nii-san_!" The elder Shuuichi could already imagine the younger one's face brightening on the other end. "Hurry!"

The older brother sighed as he strode towards his classmate. "_Hai_, _hai_."

Meanwhile, several seats away, Setsu was still engrossed in her conversation with Sanae. "You sure you don't want to borrow _my_ paintbrushes instead? If you insist on buying your own, I could go with you to the bookstore later. That reminds me—I haven't paid a visit to Midori-_san_ in a while—"

Sanae was already parting her lips to ask about that Midori person when a slender hand stretched out in between them, handing a cellular phone to Setsu. Both girls looked up and found Kurama now standing before them. Sanae's eyes turned into throbbing red hearts as Setsu's eyebrow cocked in curiosity.

"It's for you."

The sight of his cell phone—particularly one of its corners—reminded her of something. _The accessory that Kitajima_-san _made for_ Sempai… _It's still with me._

"For me?" Setsu repeated, reaching for the handset with one hand and stashing her other hand under her school skirt to fish into the side pocket of her additional sweatpants underneath. _Should be here somewhere…_ However, upon feeling its threaded edges against her fingers, she mentally decided against giving it to Kurama right that moment. _Iie. It's not in my place. This is for_ her _to give to him… That is, if she still wants to._

As she brought the phone closer to her cheek, she remarked, "Must be a call. I don't suppose you're _actually_ giving your phone away as a present, _ne_?" She chuckled from her own joke. "But who could be calling me through _your_ pho—"

"_ITOKO_! STOP HORSING AROUND AND LISTEN!" blasted Shuuichi straight into her eardrum.

"Oh." The earsplitting volume twisted Setsu's face into a closed-eyed grimace. _Who else could it be?_ "Relax, Shuuichi. You wouldn't want to burst an artery—"

A seat away from all of them, Kaitou looked up from his pocketbook. "I always thought _capillaries_ were more prone to that, being narrower—"

_It's an expression_. Setsu rolled her eyes to herself, but went along with Kaitou's addendum anyway. "—or a capillary."

"A caterpillar?"

Despite the earpiece now closer to Setsu's listening ear than anyone else's, the demon with acute earshot standing beside her sweat-dropped. Setsu herself smacked her own forehead from exasperation. Biology was _not_ Hatanaka Shuuichi's best subject.

"Well, whatever it is you're babbling about, _itoko_, you just _gotta_ make me the coolest birthday card ever!" From the urgency in his voice, the younger Shuuichi's matter sounded more like a life-or-death emergency than an upcoming birthday. "I need it by tomorrow—no, _tonight_! Tomorrow's already her birthday!"

"_Her"?_ Setsu momentarily closed her eyes, internally scanning her mind for the master list of human birthdays stored in her eidetic memory, but limiting her roster to only the people whose birthdays Shuuichi actually knew. _Ah. Shiori_-'ba-san. _She's turning forty-three tomorrow._

"Her?" The now-human deity repeated, this time aloud. "Whose birthday is it, Shuuichi? You're going to have to be a little clearer than that."

It took a little—no, a lot—of getting used to over the years. But now it was second nature to Setsu—to solicit information that she already had access to just by being who she was. She had to be most cautious, now that she was human.

"It's _'Kaa-san_'s, so you better go all out on the glitters and the cuteness, got that?"

With this, the younger son of the Minamino-Hatanaka family then began reciting an entire litany of grievances against his own older stepbrother—who "gives _'Kaa-san_ the best birthday gifts all the time!"—and, after Setsu had already glanced at her wristwatch for the tenth time, concluded that _his own_ efforts to make his kind, sweet stepmother happy were always in vain simply because his older brother had always managed to outdo, overshadow, and upstage him in just about everything.

As Shuuichi ranted on and on to his older cousin, Setsu inched further and further away from Kurama and the others, respecting her cousin's need for privacy. _Minamino_-sempai _should be the last to hear this._ She sighed to herself, knowing the demon-human's tendency to go over the top when it comes to his human mother. _He overcompensates to her, Shuuichi. A manifestation of his deep-seated guilt for treating her the way he has all these years._

When Shuuichi had finally given her room to speak, she piped up. "But is that all you'll give her, Shuuichi? A card? That _I_ drew? You know, if you really want to do better than your _'Nii-san_, you're going to have to come up with something better than that, _itoko_." Suddenly, an idea popped up in her head. "Tell you what," she proposed to the boy on the other end. "I have another idea…"

Meanwhile, from several feet away, Kaitou and Kurama were watching the seventeen-year-old girl chatting away on the latter's phone as if it were her own.

A mischievous gleam on the edge of his spectacle lens, Kaitou turned to his comrade. "Is it just me, or does Mayonaka-_kun_ seem _very_ comfortable with _your_ property?" He smirked. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

The unflustered Kurama merely sighed to himself. "She is speaking with my stepbrother—who is also her cousin. Have I not already told you this before?"

As a suddenly wide-eyed Kaitou mentally processed this bolt from the blue, Setsu walked back towards Kurama, intentionally making him overhear what she is saying to Shuuichi. "Pay close attention to Shiori-_'ba-san_ when you arrive home later. Keep your ears peeled for when she plays that sad, romantic song she always plays every night." She recalled this from her two-week-long summer stay in their home. "But tonight, make sure to _record_ her playing the piano, _ne_? I could borrow a voice recorder from my friend Nami if you like."

"Thanks, _itoko_!"

A curious Kurama blinked.

"Oh," Setsu had one last note. She moved away from Kurama again. "I also happen to know someone with elegantly beautiful handwriting." She shot a glance at Sanae, the lone Calligraphy student in their midst. "How would you like _that_ for your card?"

She could already see Shuuichi brightly, toothily beaming from ear to ear on the other end of the line.

"And what did you say you wanted drawn on the front cover of that card again?"

The younger Shuuichi cheered on the other end. His _itoko_ was awesome sometimes.

He was so excited for the next day that he almost did not hear Setsu telling him to "stretch your guitar-playing fingers now, because you'll need them tomorrow. And get your old drum set out of the attic, too."

* * *

A delicate, salon-polished fingernail carefully glided over the ribbon of silk resting upon Shiori's lap.

"Oh, Shiori-_san_, I just can't ever sew Chinese buttons the way _you_ do!" gushed another member of the local neighborhood sewing circle that Shiori participated in every Friday afternoon. "How did you attach that fancy button to the silk like that?"

Shiori smiled at her enthusiastic fellow club member. "The Chinese call these 'frog buttons,' Mikuru-_san_." The housewife of the Minamino-Hatanakas leaned closer to Akasaki Mikuru, explaining as she demonstrated the proper way to stitch a frog button to the hem of a Chinese dress. "Because when they sew this onto cloth, they copy the shape of the legs of a frog, like so…"

Mikuru watched with glittery-eyed fascination as Shiori expertly attached another intricately designed button to the silk with measured, precise loops and knots.

Suddenly, Shiori stopped sewing, her trusty needle between her pointer and thumb. "But Mikuru-_san_, why the sudden interest in Chinese clothing? You once said you'd never even try sewing these…"

The woman beside her grinned mysteriously in response. "Oh, I just thought this style would look good on someone I know."

Shiori perked up to this. Was she referring to…? "A man?"

"Oh, no!" The longtime divorcee merely laughed and waved off her good friend's subtle taunt. "My youngest daughter. I'll try making her a dress myself for a special occasion."

"Young_est_"? But as far as Shiori could remember, she only had two…

Suddenly, a curt yet commanding knock on the front door of the civic center caught their attention.

"Speaking of 'special occasions'," Mikuru rose from her seat. "Have a happy birthday tomorrow, Shiori-_san_!" She gave the birthday celebrant a big, affectionate bear hug, then scooped up her fabrics and her sewing kit. "So sorry I need to go ahead, but my ride's here!" She stashed her belongings into her shoulder bag as she strode to the entrance of the community center, still calling out to Shiori behind her. "Say hi to your family for me!"

Shiori graciously nodded from her seat. "Regards to yours as well."

Just as the seamstress turned her attention back to her current tapestry, from the corner of her eye, she spotted a stoic-looking man in his late forties with salt-and-pepper hair receding at the hairline and deep-set eyes meeting Mikuru at the door. Apparently, he was her "ride."

"He seems the strong, silent type," the meddlesome but well-meaning observer commented to no one in particular. "The type who'll never admit he's in love."

Shiori smiled to herself. Her good friend had dealt with that horrible, home-wrecking divorce for so long. She was glad to know that Mikuru was now finally moving on to better things… better people.

* * *

Professor Lerner did not show up for their advanced English class after all. As per Meiou _Daigaku_ policy, the students of his class promptly dismissed themselves one hour after their class was supposed to have begun.

But Kurama did not consider his trip to school in vain. He and Kaitou were making the most of what limited time he had before he was needed again at the office later that day.

"You had regressed into your demon self right before my eyes. I'm telling you, Minamino—Mayonaka-_kun_ _knows_ of your otherworldly alter ego, and even used it to her advantage—to throw me off-guard!"

"Has she somehow been causing my transformations?" As the two leisurely strolled around campus, Kurama stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. "But what could she have done that time she, Yusuke, and I were all together in Yusuke's ramen shop—and that time the two of you were under the power of your Taboo—that would cause my metamorphosis both times?"

He handed Kaitou the additional sheet of paper that the word wizard had asked for a few minutes earlier. As gifted an intellectual as he was, Kurama's ally could only push his spectacles up his nose in response—he did not know the answer.

"_Jitsu wa_, just yesterday she was drawing one of the security guards of the hotel across that café we went to. _Shikashi_, she was sketching him _not_ as a security guard, but as a farmer. Later, I overheard that farming was indeed his source of livelihood _before_ he had become a hotel guard."

"She can read people's memories!" concluded Kaitou.

"Perhaps. But we still don't know for sure."

"Which is why I've taken the liberty of enlisting the services of _another_ psychic—" Suddenly, Kaitou drew his companion's attention in front of them with a grand flourish of his arm. "—and memory-reader as well—who could be of invaluable assistance to us."

From the distance, green eyes made out a tall male figure in his late teens, with stiff mauve hair that defied gravity by standing erect from his scalp, like the spine of a hedgehog or the quills of a threatened porcupine. Dressed in a dark school uniform noticeably different from that of Meiou, the young man strode towards them with his hands in his side pants pockets, his head cocked to the side, and his eyes half-lidded, as if he were sleepy.

Yanagisawa Mitsunari first blew a large pink bubble with the gum in his mouth before taking one hand out of his pocket and raising his hand as his way of waving to them.

The bubble inflated until it finally popped. "Yo."

* * *

_So…_ Setsu absently crammed her used jar of plaster of Paris and a tangled ball of copper wires from her Sculpture class into her already dense jungle of a school locker. _He's involving more and more of_ Aniki_'s children now, isn't he?_

As soon as she had slammed the door of her locket shut, she also rammed her own shoulder against it, throwing her entire weight against the metal door now threatening to burst open at any time.

_I can't hide from him much longer._

_Yet…_

Her shoulder still propped up against the door of her dangerously overstuffed locker, her calloused fingers fished for her padlock under her school skirt and into the side pocket of her sweatpants.

… _Even if he finally does find out about me…_

She slotted the metal hook of her padlock into the ring of her locker door and pinched the padlock bolt and catch together.

… _I will never kill him._

The padlock locked with a sharp, shrill CLICK.

_Never._

* * *

"But didn't she tell us never t' use our Abilities again?" Yana eyed Kaitou and Kurama with uncertainty. "Ever?"

A gleam on the edge of his spectacle lens, Kaitou dismissed his fellow psychic's worry with a reassuring smirk. "Fear not, Yana. It's not as if we swore by our own life, or our own blood, or on our own future children." He glanced at Kurama. "Besides, I myself played a game of Taboo once again just recently, and Genkai-_shihan_ was none the wiser."

"That true?" Yana turned to face Kurama as well. "Wha' happened?"

Kurama closed his eyes and sighed. "He dealt with his second loss."

"Y' _lost_?" Yana turned back to Kaitou. "_Again_?"

The deeply offended Taboo spellbinder was just about to protest in protection of his wounded pride when Kurama pointed to a certain someone lost in the horde of undergrad university students ruthlessly stampeding their respective ways up and down the steps of the Meiou _Daigaku_ Art Gallery.

"To her."

"In fact, I called you here…" A still indignant Kaitou cleared his throat, getting back to the matter at hand. "… to ask you to Copy her."

* * *

Setsu clutched the canvas of her latest oil painting under the crook of her right arm, while her left and both of Sanae's arms worked together to carry her easel—the long wooden tripod that served as the stand of her painting—up the heavily crowded staircase of the gallery.

"Where are we bringing this?" Sanae inquired from behind Setsu, her voice slightly louder than usual so that the budding painter could overhear her even amid the hustle and bustle of the college crowd.

Blue eyes glanced sidelong behind her. "_Sensei_ told me to transfer this to the exhibition hal—"

Suddenly, a stranger with hedgehog spike-like hair charged down the stairs and crashed right into her face. The Fine Arts student once climbing up the stairs accidentally dropped her painting, lost her footing, and was about to fall—

"SETSU-_CHAN_!" Sanae cried out in alarm, automatically letting go of the easel to catch her falling friend.

But the non-Meiou student who had collided into her caught her in his arms—cupping the back of her head with one hand and the valley between her shoulder blades with the other—just in time.

"S-Sorry!" stammered the outsider, immediately releasing Setsu from his hold and storming past her and her companion all the way down to the ground floor of the gallery.

"No prob—" Setsu called out after him, but he had already disappeared back into the masses. _I'm not sure he heard me anymore._

A concerned Sanae planted a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"_Aa_. Thank you. It was no big deal, really." Setsu waved the whole thing off, bending over again to pick up her fallen art supplies. She gave both the front and the back of her canvas a quick once-over just to check if anything untoward had befallen her painting. "_That_ guy was in a hurry, though."

Her companion helped her carry the other end of her long easel once more. "I wonder why…"

Setsu shrugged in response. _Boy, are they getting serious._

* * *

Now standing before the true masterminds of the scheme, Yana suddenly shrank in height. His once-stiff hair now loosened and collapsed onto his scalp, blanketing his forehead and framing his now-transforming face. As the mauve of his hair darkened to a mousy brown, his skin lightened—several select surfaces even roughening to the touch. The two co-conspirators could only watch in breathless silence as the average-built Yanagisawa Mitsunari morphed into the lanky Mayonaka Setsuki right before their very eyes.

Before long, an authentic Copy of Setsu stood before both of them, her-his face contorting into a sour scowl. S/he took out the fruity-tasting sugary gumball from what was once Yana's tongue.

"Ugh, it's too sweet," Setsu-Yana grumbled to her-himself.

Green eyes danced in tacit fascination as the living, breathing carbon copy casually strode past him to dispose of the chewed-up wad of gum into the nearest trash bin. Never before had Kurama actually witnessed Yana in action. He had never been around to behold the psychic Copying Kuwabara, Murota the mind-reader, and that nurse who served as a decoy when Yusuke fought the Doctor in his own hospital.

"Hey," an amused Kaitou piped up. "Mayonaka-_kun_, Yana's clothes suit you better than they do _him_!"

Setsu-Yana cocked a disapproving eyebrow at him. "_Hn_. Some friend _you_ are. That sounded more of an insult to _him_ than to _me_."

"That's Mayonaka-_kun_, all right." Kaitou sweat-dropped.

"Now," Kurama did not know how to address the person standing before them. "Tell us what you—"

He never got to finish that sentence.

Just then, Setsu-Yana collapsed onto her-his knees and clapped her-his hands over her-his head. "Wh—What—What's happeni—It—It hurts—It—It's—It's too—!" In a matter of seconds, s/he clenched her-his fingers around her-his own hair and gripped the tousled lot tightly, threatening to pull entire patches right off her-his scalp. "It's too much! I—I—!"

Shock had just registered on both Kaitou's and Kurama's faces when Setsu-Yana hunched her-his back closer to the floor, doubling over in volumes of unspeakable, unimaginable pain.

"I can't—! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

With that outcry, the pained, panicked Setsu-Yana began loudly, violently banging her-his own forehead against the marble gallery floor—once, twice, thrice, more.

"Y-Yana—! Get a hold of yourself!"

Kurama got down on one knee himself and seized Setsu-Yana by her-his shoulders. "Mayonaka-_san_! _Shikai shirou_!"

Eyes of a cloudless midday sky looked up to meet eyes of a vast, verdant meadow. Never before had he seen those icy eyes entreating—pleading—begging!—for mercy… until now.

Setsu-Yana managed to steel her-himself enough to lift her-his chin up to barely level her-his face with Kurama's. Her-his pools of blue were now fast welling up into salty oceans. "HIT ME!" S/he barked towards both of them, her-his voice cracking, hoarsening more and more by the syllable. "HIT ME AS HARD AS YOU CAN!"

But Kaitou was not inclined to hit his comrade—or to use violence in general. "But—But Yana, you know I could never do that!"

And Kurama found that he could not hit Mayonaka-_san_.

* * *

Yana felt his entire body being electrified—fried alive—nonstop, as though Death Itself had long been knocking upon his door. "I SHOULD'A CHANGED BACK BY NOW! I GOTTA DO SOMETHIN'!"

Still in the bodily form of Mayonaka Setsuki, the nigh-hysterical Yana broke into a wild dash away from Kurama and Kaitou. The two Meiou students s/he had left behind gasped and were about to sprint after her-him when s/he sharply turned the next corner and suddenly plowed right into someone.

"Yana!" Kaitou called out after him as both he and Kurama raced toward the scene as fast as their legs could carry them. They trailed his steps and found him in the next corridor sprawled on the ground—as himself again.

A familiar calloused hand reached out to him.

"_Ne_, it isn't everyday that I literally bump into the same person two times in a row." The real Mayonaka Setsuki commented with a chuckle, yet the concern written all over her face was genuine. "I hope you're all right."

* * *

Blue eyes gave Yana a thorough once-over to check if he had already fully morphed back into his own physique.

_I feel you, man. My Spirit World-strain migraines are the pits!_

* * *

Seated on the second to the topmost step of the staircase with his legs splayed far apart, Yana planted his elbows on his knees and buried his still-frantically throbbing forehead in his still-shaky palms. "Sorry I wasn't much help."

Leaning his back against the banister, Kurama stood beside him, cupping his elbows. "_Iiya_. Your experience was revealing—in its own way."

"Judging from _your_ experience, she well and truly _is_ out of the ordinary," Kaitou resignedly concluded as he squatted on the topmost step, leveling himself with Yana's head. "It was but a few minutes ago. Are you certain you cannot recall even just _a few_ of her personal thoughts or memories?"

The cloning psychic shook his head no, the harrowing, haunting pain still seeping into his brain as he did so. "The inside of 'er head was like…" He paused awhile to mentally fish for the descriptive word that best suited his current need. "… a _supercomputer_ or somethin'! The information in there… It was all just too much for one _ningen_! My brain _overloaded_! Now I don't remember anythin' about 'er at all!"

Kurama tried to tackle the matter from a different angle. "What about her thoughts on someone _else_?" he suggested. "Was she thinking of someone—even if only at that precise time you Copied her?"

Yana finally looked up from his quivering hands. "Now that y' mention it, I _did_ hear her sayin' somethin' over an' over again in 'er mind… like she was chanting it." He looked Kurama squarely in the eye. "I don't think you'd wanna hear it, though."

Kaitou contested this right away. "Nonsense, Yana! That's the very reason I called you here!"

Yana's eyes never left Kurama's. "Okay, but don't say I never warned ya!"

"How bad can it be?" Kaitou wondered aloud as Kurama did the same merely inwardly.

"I remember jus' two words."

Kurama nodded in silence.

"'Kill Kurama'."

* * *

"_That mutt._"

_She frowned._

"_Bring that mutt to me."_

"NEVER." Setsu spat aloud.

A calloused hand absently fumbled around in search of a gold gel pen among the other coloring materials neatly lined up on the tiled floor. Lying on her stomach on the carpet in her living room, Setsu was busily coloring in the achenes—the seed-looking detail—of the strawberry atop her strawberry cheesecake illustration when the knob of the front door of the Mayonaka condominium unit suddenly turned. Someone was unlocking it.

Setsu was reaching for her red gel pen when Mayonaka Tsuzuku opened the front door.

"Kisetsu, who are you with in here?"

As the father of the house slipped out of his trench coat, the daughter's mood suddenly swung from dark and broody to mischievously playful.

"How about _you_, then? Who were you with out there?" asked Setsu in a teasing tone.

A meaningful, defiant silence lingered in their living room.

Setsu sighed. Her father had been going out with a special lady for years now, and _still_ he was all mum and in denial. She had something to tell her _Haha_ in the grave again on her next visit.

* * *

"_Are you sure you haven't seen him anywhere?" Shiori asked for the eleventh time in three minutes. No one had given her the answer that she was hoping for. No one had given her even just a halfway decent answer._

_No one knew where her dearest Shuuichi went._

_The distraught, distressed mother clutched the wicker handle in her hand more tightly than before. She shot a glance inside the now near-empty, hollow basket, her sights settling on nothing more than the checkered cloth that she had wrapped her sandwiches in earlier that day. "I should have given him a sandwich. He could have dropped crumbs. I could trace his steps by finding those crumbs…"_

_The more she spoke, the more that tears welled her up in her eyes, threatening to trickle down her face at any moment. Not long ago had she just lost her husband. Now, she seems to have also lost her son!_

_From behind a nearby tree, Kurama scoffed in the shadows._

Of course you search for me. Searching for me won't cost you your life anyway.

I know you humans. You're self-serving. Self-preserving. You, for one, only want me around because you don't want to be "all alone." But you'll back down… once you see that you could get hurt.

_One of the other mothers in the park clapped a reassuring hand on Shiori's back just as the mother whose child was missing murmured to herself. "But the birds would have eaten those crumbs… Oh, Shuuichi! Where_ are _you?"_

_Kurama stepped out from behind the tree._

"_Here."_

_Without another word, the woman with the tired, broken spirit dropped her basket, raced towards her only child, fell to her knees before him, and scooped up her most precious five-year-old treasure in her arms, wrapping one arm around his slim shoulders and even cradling the back of his head._

_His entire body paralyzed within her tight yet tender embrace, the demon in human form looked straight ahead, refusing to meet anyone's eyes._

Your worry is unnecessary. As of now, I have yet to regain enough strength to return to _Makai_.

* * *

_I was a problem child… more trouble than I was worth._

_I must have given her many a headache._

_I never even called her_ "'Kaa-san"…

… _not until…_

The gentle, wispy evening breeze suddenly howled. The pages of the daily calendar on his bedside tabletop flipped forward and back with the wind, like a deck of playing cards shuffled all at once.

… _I was six years old… that day everything changed…_

"Tadaima."

_Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows—she did not want to get them wet while she was soaping the last of the plastic containers she always used for storing leftovers in the refrigerator._

"Okaeri nasai. _How was school, Shuuichi?"_

_Just as before, I chose to answer her usual question with my usual response. "Okay."_ Shikashi, _this time,_ _I drove at my main point straight away. "I need a large can for arts and crafts."_

_She was rinsing the lid by now. "I'll get you one off of the top cabinet."_

_I strode past her anyway._

"Iiya. _I can get it myself."_

_I retrieved the tallest stool we had in the house and positioned it right below the cabinet she had told me about. In spite of it already being the tallest we had, given my own height at the time, I still had to tiptoe to be able to grasp the knob of the cupboard._

_The higher I tiptoed, the more the stool wobbled under me._

"_Let's see…"_

_The large, empty can I needed was just behind the stack of plates that_ 'Kaa-san _brought out only when we had guests, or in time for the holidays. To this day, I could still hear them clinking together as I reached for the can._

_Never, too, will I forget the distinct, deafening sound that soon followed: the consecutive cracking of fine china as they fell and smashed onto the kitchen floor right under me._

_Never have I been accustomed to hearing it—the shattering of glass. It does not occur in nature… more so in_ Makai. _After all, glass was a_ ningen _invention. The sound of its division is never a good sound. It pierces, penetrates the ears… An ill omen: anyone who owns glass would dread to hear it—it's not supposed to happen._

"_NO!"_

_The stool wobbled one final time. I lost my footing before I could even grab hold of the can. In my last-ditch attempt for the can, I had knocked down the plates in front of it._

'Kaa-san_'s precious plates._

_But she didn't dive into the pool of broken china and glass shards to save any of them._

"_SHUUICHI!"_

_She did it to save_ me.

"_Oh…"_

_I didn't hear the splinters and shards slice her skin. Just her faint moan._

"_Unh…"_

_All I could tell at that time was that I landed on her outstretched arms—without a scratch._

_When I rose to my feet, her arms were swimming in a different pool—of her own blood._

_It was then that my own concept of humanity came back to me:_

I know you humans. You're self-serving. Self-preserving. You, for one, only want me around because you don't want to be "all alone." But you'll back down… once you see that you could get hurt.

_But this… her sacrifice…_

… _She had proven me wrong._

_And for the first time, I finally acknowledged who she truly was to me._

"'KAA-SAN_!"_

_She must have noted it as well. She smiled, despite her condition._

_And despite her condition, the first thing she said was:_

"_A… Are you all right, Shuuichi…?"_

_At that time, I could not even begin to understand how, given the circumstances,_ she _could even direct such a question at_ me.

_To this day, her scars remain._

_I tried to leave many times, but… I kept seeing those scars… that smile…_

_I couldn't bring myself to do it._

_After her sacrifice… I couldn't hurt her…_

Still lying in bed, Kurama raised both his arms to level with his eyes and, with one finger, slowly traced the pattern of his mother's deathly hideous, inerasable scars on his own forearm.

One particularly strong gust of wind flipped the calendar on his bedside table one last time. Now before his eyes was the page indicating the date of the following day.

His eyes slid closed on their own. _Her birthday._

Just then, he remembered Setsu's words from two afternoons ago:

"_Now, whatever it is you're hiding from Shiori_-'ba-san _is really none of my business, but again, I believe you need to be told: Your secret_ could _possibly hurt her. But your_ keeping it from her…"

_She shook her head to herself._

"… _already_ does."

Kurama opened his eyes.

_Tomorrow, Mayonaka_-san.

_Tomorrow is a new day._

**Continued—already  
**Yup, Chapter 21 is already up! \(^o^)/  
(Since it's actually the second half of this chapter.)

You know what? I had originally outlined the events of this very chapter all the way until those of Chapter 23 in one fell swoop… So to be perfectly honest with all of you, I had a _hell_ of a hard time dividing all of them into separate chapters.

(Notwithstanding all the reasons that I shared with you above, _this_ is actually the truest explanation as to why I hadn't been able to update this little fanfic of mine for this long a time. I have to admit, I _don't_ have "writer's block" or something like that. Considering this falls under the genre of Mystery, I _do_ already have "the ultimate answers" to this mystery—I _do_ already know the future events yet to unfold in this fic. The thing is, they're all just one big mess in my head—and unfortunately, I'm taking [excruciatingly] long to write this all the way to its end simply because Life gets in the freaking way.)

So yeah. Despite the length of this chapter, _this_ was already the best "halfway point" I found between the events of this chapter and the next one. Unfortunately, I'm not too satisfied with how this chapter ended up—I feel that by dividing this chapter and the next one where I did, _this_ chapter became pretty much uneventful, mostly serving as a mere prelude to the next.

In sum: I hope you don't mind this somewhat… awkward… chapter ending. That's all.

Oh, but if you could impart any nugget of wisdom or advice for a fellow fanfiction author-slash-reader struggling to organize her own thoughts and just write her fanfic in chronological order, I would not only welcome, but greatly appreciate it. ^-^

By the way, the above depiction of the flashback involving the Minaminos' "shattered plates" accident is pretty much 100 percent true to the _manga_ (the English version, published by VIZ Media).

Speaking of which… Is anyone here selling a copy of YYH Volumes **1** and **9**? (Preferably the English-translated Shonen Jump / VIZ Media edition, but even the Japanese _tankoubon_ would be fine.) Aside from everything I've shared with all of you, I've also been hunting for the entire series throughout my hiatus—and as of now, they're the last two volumes missing from my collection. So, yeah—if anyone has them and is willing to part ways with them, please let me know. \(^o^)/

**THANK YOU VERY MUCH for reading this far!  
****And please, don't forget to REVIEW this chapter—even if the next one is already up! ^-^**


	21. The Slow but Beautiful Lover (Part 2)

**A/N  
**And here's the second of my two simultaneously uploaded updates! ^-^

Just for kicks, I added a little something to this chapter that I've done once before.  
Like in Chapter 6, warm up your vocal cords—and feel free to **sing along with Kurama (again)**!

And just like in Chapter 6, the song that Kurama will sing in this chapter is in _both_ Japanese and English. You may join him in whichever language you like. ^-^ When I transliterated its lyrics to English, I tried my best to match the syllabication of the Japanese lyrics _and_ retain the essence of the English translation as accurately as possible. But please note that I worded the English lyrics the way I did in order to best abide by the plot of this fanfic.

Happy reading! \(^o^)/  
(Singing, too. XD)

* * *

"_NEVER."_

"_Oh, yes… Never. Never are you to be together, either. The mutt and his bitch… never to have their happy ending. How utterly tragic."_

_Her fists tightened at her sides._ Shut up. Just. Shut. Up!

"_Since you were summoned, you have grown weak from your lowly human heart—you have starved, thirsted, ached and bled, and surrendered to the frivolous temptations of the flesh. Humanity_ suits _you. Why resist?"_

"_Never."_

"_No deal."_

"_No dice."_

"_Never mind."_

_Her companion's silence was deafening._

"_What part of 'No' do you not understand? I REFUSE TO LIVE JUST TO KILL HIM."_

"_How certainly quick you are to turn down good opportunities. I would be wiser, my dear, if I were you."_

"_You are_ not _me. And you never will be."_

"_Never speak of rules with such finality, my dear. A single exception to the rule can prove you wrong."_

_So viciously did her teeth gnash against each other that a twinge of pain shot through her gums._

"_Tell me—is human Hatred supposed to feel threatening in any way? I find being subjected to it most enjoyable. In fact, its effect on me borders on humor. I could laugh."_

You're really missing the point.

"_What's the point in being alive if I'll have to kill the very person I want to live for?"_

"_Oh, look at you! Acting as if you have any choice in the matter!"_

Stop. Mocking me!

"_You don't."_

_Her next words died on her lips—unsaid—as she suddenly—_

_Her companion waved at her daintily, its voice more melodious than ever._

"_Good luuuck…"_

**21: The Slow but Beautiful Lover  
**Alternative Chapter Title: **Shiori  
**(Part 2 of 2)

"What a small tree!"

Hatanaka Shuuichi squatted before the kitchen counter to get a closer look at the most recent addition to his stepmother's collection of potted plants: that dwarfed ornamental tree typically grown in a tray or shallow pot known as the _bonsai_.

"This is actually a little taller than the usual bonsai," noted Shiori as she happily snipped off a stray branch from the miniature tree using her trusty pruning shears. Shuuichi watched on curiously as she set down the large-bladed scissors specifically designed for gardening purposes onto the counter, took a thin metal wire in her gloved hands, and proceeded to bend the wire and loop it around another branch of the potted tree.

Shiori's actions struck her stepson as strange. "What're you doing to it, _'Kaa-san_? Won't that tiny branch break if you tie it to the trunk?"

The experienced gardener laughed softly at his question, giving him a tender pat on the head. "No, Shuuichi. This is all part of the art of growing bonsai."

"Growing bonsai is an _art_?"

Shiori nodded yes. "Bonsai need to be trimmed and stringed so their branches would always point up. Like this one." In her gloved hand, she delicately cupped one particular branch of the already beautifully trimmed, cultured bonsai tree. "A bonsai with branches that droop down—like those of a weeping willow, for example—is considered 'ugly' and even 'unlucky' in our culture."

"And I thought only those fortune plants—" Shuuichi motioned to the row of other lush green potted plants adorning the top of their chimney ledge. "—'_Nii-san_ gave you back then were the only plants that could be called 'lucky'."

Suddenly, he remembered just what he was supposed to do that day: give his stepmother a present for her forty-third birthday. But he wasn't ready. Yet.

He stalled for time. "By the way, where did you get that bonsai thing?"

"Shuuichi gave it to me just earlier today."

Crap. His older stepbrother had beaten him to the chase. Yet. Again. And as always, their _'Kaa-san_ just _loved_ his gift all the way to the moon and back.

Shuuichi inwardly cussed to himself and fidgeted nervously. What about _his_ gift for her? He was supposed to give it to her—_now_! Where _was_ his _itoko_ when he needed her?

"Why, that no-good—!" And just when he began cursing his cousin's unreliability under his breath, the chime of the doorbell on their front gate resounded throughout the house.

"She's here!" Relief flooding through his system, Shuuichi broke into a mad dash towards the front door. He flung it open to find his stepbrother welcoming his cousin into their humble home.

"Need any help, Mayonaka-_san_?" As they strode from the gate to the front door of the house, Kurama gestured to the purple backpack weighing down on Setsu's back and the apparently overstuffed drawstring pouch bag she also carried in her hands.

"Thanks, but no, thanks." Clutching her backpack strap slung over her shoulder with one hand, Setsu grinned at him in gratitude and caught sight of Shuuichi meeting them halfway from the door. She was already handing the overfilled drawstring bag to the fast-approaching boy—

"_Ne_, here you g—"

—when Shuuichi hurtled into her so suddenly that she ended up accidentally shoving the heavy pouch bag right into his torso. "What _took_ you so long?! I almost looked like I had nothi—!"

Setsu cut him off mid-moan just as they stepped into the front door.

"_Ohayou_, Shiori-_'ba-san_!" She sounded more enthusiastic and high-spirited than usual. "_Otanjoubi omedetou_!"

The birthday celebrant emerged from the kitchen, gently pulling off her gardening gloves one finger at a time. She had taken one of them off by the time she arrived at the door to meet their houseguest. "Thank you, Setsuki-_chan_!" She clasped the girl's free hand into her own ungloved one. "So nice of you to come!"

"Good thing I made it here in time for Shuuichi's special surprise for you…!" The cousin with yet another devious scheme up her sleeve shot a glance at the younger one. "I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

Suddenly, the dumbstruck boy froze on the spot. To his horror, even _he_ had no idea what it was!

He leaned closer to his older cousin, entertaining the idea of crushing her foot under his—among several other, blunter ways of punishing her with swiftly delivered pain—but instead chose to hoarsely rasp right into her eardrum. "What the—? 'Special surprise,' all right! Why, it's a 'surprise' even to _me_!"

"Rest assured. We are in this together." A calm Setsu murmured back in a low undertone into his own ear, never cutting off eye contact from Shiori. She raised her voice again. "In fact, it's a surprise for your entire family! Now, _itoko_—" She then whirled to face Shuuichi squarely. "—where did you say we were going to do this? In your living room?"

"Uhhh, y-yeah," stammered the now-sweaty, uninformed Shuuichi. "Now?" He yelled at her with only his eyes. "Like right _now_?"

Setsu merely shrugged at him with a mischievous grin. "Sure. I don't see why not."

Shiori nodded. "I'll go get your father."

As the cooperative birthday celebrant headed off towards the garage, Shuuichi was already reaching out for the girl standing next to him, intending to yank her arm—among several other, blunter ways of punishing her with swiftly delivered pain—when she snuck off into their living room.

The seething Shuuichi was gnashing his teeth when Setsu spoke up from afar. "Oh, good—you've set everything up."

"Yeah, just the way _you_ asked me to." He followed after her and found her already seated on the stool behind the old drum set that his father had bought for him when he and Setsu were still taking drum lessons in their early teens.

"Man, it's still good as new," she whistled in admiration, studying the near-unused drumsticks now in her hands. "You really haven't been playing this since you quit our drumming class, _ne_?"

"Don't remind me." Shuuichi grumbled as he repositioned the speakers of his sound system to a better location. "I was young and stupid back then."

"_Itoko_, that was just two years ago," Setsu then proceeded to test out every drum and cymbal in Shuuichi's drum set to listen for the respective sounds that each one created. "Whoa—!" Blue eyes widened and glittered upon catching sight of the largest cymbal in the bunch, which looked more like four oversized, heavy-duty metal washers piled atop each other on a reed-thin stand. "You actually own the exclusive, one-of-a-kind Hammerax Grind Course Quadruple Bronze Crasher? Cool!"

In spite of himself, Shuuichi could not help but chuckle at his older cousin's enthusiasm. She sounded just like a boy.

The enthralled Setsu tapped on the cymbal with the overly long name more gently than she did the others. The impact created a metallic smash most closely resembling the sound of the lid of a tin garbage can being drummed—a sound far more piercing to the ears than those produced by all the other cymbals she had played. "But boy, Kazuyu-_'ji-san_ must have paid extra for this, because this will never be part of your basic drum set—this was especially designed for _heavy metal_ songs…!"

"Well, I _did_ once want to be the drummer of a heavy metal band back then, you know," retorted the budding musician who had lost his interest in the drums and was now into playing the electric guitar. "Like I said, I was young and stupid, okay?"

"Says the guy who _still_ dreams of playing in a heavy metal band until now," snickered Setsu to herself as the boy slung the carrying strap of his electric guitar over his head and his shoulder. "Well, I just hope your electric guitar lessons have paid off."

"Just see for yourself!" Taking pride in his own mad skills, Shuuichi puffed up as he plugged his guitar into his sound system.

"Don't you mean 'listen'?"

"Whatever!"

As the two cousins bickered on as they always did, Kurama joined them quietly. He was just about to take a seat upon the armchair one table away from the drum set when Setsu turned to him. "_Sempai_, I hope you're not busy or something, because we would truly appreciate it if you sort of kind of take part in the program, too."

She unhooked one of the microphones from the mic stand beside the drum set and tossed it right in between the two Shuuichis.

* * *

_This sound…_

The crash of that last cymbal Setsu tried out still resounded in Kurama's ears.

_The sound of shattering glass._

_The dishes I broke that day…_

Suddenly, Shuuichi's passionate outcry stirred him out of his reverie. "Whaddya want me to do with _that_? I'm not touching that thing!"

Green eyes blinked and found a stray microphone now lying by his feet. He picked it up and offered it to his stepbrother, who adamantly shook his head in refusal—as if he were being offered a plate of live, wriggling worms instead.

"NOOOOO WAY! I AM _NOT_ GONNA SING!"

And right then and there, the couple of the Minamino-Hatanaka household entered the living room.

"Hey guys, what's all this I hear about a birthday 'surprise'?" inquired a greasy-faced Hatanaka Kazuyu, carrying a jar of rubbing compound on one hand and a filthy rag on the other as he parked himself upon the long chaise lounge sofa situated across the concert-like setup in their living room. A peacefully smiling Shiori also comfortably settled beside him.

The older Shuuichi stepped past the younger one and handed the microphone still in his hand to the girl behind the drum set. "Here, Mayonaka-_san_—"

But she didn't take it from him, either.

"'_Ji-san_, _'Ba-san_, we present to you—" An electronic voice recorder in one hand and two noticeably well-polished, near-unused drumsticks in the other, Setsu addressed both the man of the house and the birthday celebrant, ignoring Kurama for the meantime. "—a rendition of Shiori-_'ba-san_'s own song, for all those times that she played it for us. Now, please sit back and relax as we play our own cover version of it just for you."

"Let's hear it," cheered Kazuyu, wiping the oily smear off his forehead with his even greasier cleaning rag.

A still silently, sweetly smiling Shiori nodded in agreement, clasping her hands to her heart.

With that, Setsu pressed Play.

Suddenly, the sorrowful yet serene song that Shiori plays every night on her baby grand piano—that also unusually played like an organ when she presses on its keys longer than she would a piano—poured out from the electronic recorder that Shuuichi had taped it in just the night before.

The sound system microphone still in his possession, Kurama was at a loss as to what to do. Setsu was already slowly hitting the high- and mid-toms to the beat of Shiori's piano-playing—each of her hits producing a sound most closely resembling the dribbling of a rubber basketball on concrete—when she jerked her head, motioning for him to come closer.

"_Sempai_, Shiori-_'ba-san_ once told me that she composed this song as a musical 'message' for her father—your paternal grandfather—to tell him all the things she wasn't able to tell him when he was still alive." Setsu whispered right into his ear in one hurried breath. "Of course, '_Ba-san_ is very much alive right now, but you get my point, _ne_?" she burbled as a side note of sorts.

Green eyes narrowed. _Are you asking me to…?_

Setsu grinned at him impishly. "Don't _you_ have any such 'message' for _her_, too?"

A cold bead of sweat trickled down Kurama's brow. Mayonaka-_san_ was _still_ full of surprises until now. He still did not know what to sing. And the song was already playing!

But she knew his predicament.

"Just sing whatever is in your heart." She murmured into his ear one last time. "Be open. Be honest. Be free."

The moment that the melancholic melody of the piano faded away, the drummer struck that especially large bronze cymbal again. The aftershock of the impact echoed over and over, lingering in the air majestically, magnificently, like the striking of a royal gong. He heard those six glasses and eight plates from long ago shattering under him all over again.

He parted his lips.

"_Kokoro no mizuumi no soko ni…  
_**Oh, my heart remains a deep and tranquil water…**"

* * *

_Okaaay…_ Setsu thought to herself upon hearing the first line that strayed out of Kurama's lost lips. _Not exactly the cheeriest—or the most appropriate—birthday song lyrics I've ever heard._

_I've got to hand it to him, though—he_ does _sound like he's about to sing from his heart._

_Besides, now's not the time to be snarky._

_I should be more supportive._

* * *

Kurama froze. _What did I just…?_

_I better stop—_

Suddenly, green eyes caught sight of the deathly hideous, inerasable scars peeking out of Minamino Shiori's sleeves as she clasped her hands to her heart.

He averted his gaze just as her voice clouded his mind again.

"_Rest assured. We are in this together._"

Just then, he heard her strike the tom-toms again—three times in succession, then a fourth time after half a beat of delay—right after he had sung his first line.

"_I will be with you all the way._"

He parted his lips again in time for the next.

"… _Koori wo haritsume nagara…  
_... **And its ocean bed is frozen into ice…**"

* * *

_Wow._ Her breath caught in her throat.

Upon hearing that most recent line ooze from his husky yet honeyed alto, a chilly tingle ran down Setsu's spine. The hairs on her arms stood on end.

_He can sing lullabies to a baby._

She made good on her promise and kept him company as he sang by playing the tom-toms thrice again, then twice more.

"… _Ikite-yuku no ga,  
_**... Though I'm cold and numb inside,  
**_ore no shukumei,  
_**I endure and stay alive,  
**_tatakai nuku sono tame ni…  
_**so I choose to fight until my dying day…**"

Her hands now clasped to her heart more tightly than before, Shiori lowered her head as she listened earnestly to the song of her beloved son.

* * *

At this point so far, Shuuichi the Younger had not even contributed a single peep to the music. He was just starting to get into the beat of it. It helped that he had already heard the piece countless times before—every night for many, many nights, since his father married his stepmother.

He closed his eyes to concentrate. He wanted to get the hang of the song… to capture the feel of it in his ear.

Who knew that his _'Nii-san_ had such a golden voice box lodged within that skinny throat? Damn, the man can _sing_!

The aspiring musician listened on in silent, secret captivation as his _'Nii-san_ came up with another new stanza by himself—without reading from a single lyric sheet whatsoever.

"_Kokoro no hotori de anata ga  
_**Then you plunged into the icy depths unfathomed  
**_yasashiku ore wo yonde mo…  
_**and your gentle voice of warmth flows into me…**"

Only now did Shuuichi notice that his _itoko_ held herself back on the drums as his _'Nii-san_ lent his voice to their _'Kaa-san_'s piano tune with lyrics all his own—Setsu gently played the tom-toms to the beat of the piano only _after_ his _'Nii-san_ had already sung another line. She was playing not _against_ him, but _alongside_ him—accompanying his singing by creating a catchy new beat with the tiniest of the splash cymbals among the drum set, yet all in all letting him and his silky voice shine through.

"… _Mimi wo fusaide  
_**... But your words all go unheard  
**_hashiru hi mo aru,  
_**as the day I run to burns,  
**_Koori no_ naifu _wo daite_.  
**I've a knife from my ice heart between my hands.**"

His _'Nii-san_ was just… amazing. Where was he coming up with this stuff? He himself could not believe that the man was merely cooking up these lyrics right off the top of his head!

Shuuichi decided to wing it himself.

He finally strummed his electric guitar.

* * *

Kazuyu's, Shiori's, and even Kurama's and Setsu's, eyes all widened. The electric guitarist's entrance into the song was just that emboldened… grand.

An amused chuckle escaping her lips, Setsu took his entry as a "challenge" of sorts and decided to take her own drumming to the next level as well. The drummer met every single one of Shuuichi's powerful strums with a more complicated continuation of the beat that she already had going earlier, outdoing her own past performance with extra punches from the snare and bass drums.

To signal the start of the next stanza, she concluded their short instrumental with four short, clipped smacks of those special heavy-metal cymbals, then another four strikes for balance.

Kurama heard the shards of broken glass and fine china that once slashed his human mother's wrists again. He, too, went on.

"_Dakedo itsu no hi ka, heiwa ga,  
_**So that one day, still far off into the distance,  
**_kono yo wo atatameta nara  
_**the true peace I seek burns bright across the world  
**_itetsuku_ souru _mo  
_**where my frozen soul will dwell  
**_tokedasu hazu sa  
_**and at last be warmed as well  
**purizumu_ wo hanachi nagara.  
_**and a bridge of prism sweeps across my sea.**"

Setsu just _had_ to chuckle at that last line. _Uh, you could have just said "rainbow"…_

Now Shuuichi was finally in the zone. The guitarist improvised his own instrumental coda to Shiori's piano melody, which was by itself already building up in speed. Now at its refrain, Shiori's original composition was taking on a new life of its own.

"_Sono hi ga_,  
**Until that day,  
**_kuru made,  
_**still far away,  
**_**keep on going—**_"

Blue eyes widened to these new lyrics. Another chuckle of amusement passed Setsu's lips. _Oh, you and your gratuitous English._

"_**We are fighting  
**__**Don't… stop…**_"

And, true to his own word, he really did not stop.

"_Mirai wo shinjite kirikome!  
_**I will stand up for the future I believe in!  
**_Ikiru koto wa kake dakara—  
_**For the fight is truly why we're all alive—**

The once-dusky, disheartening andante aria had now quickened into a vigorous, vivacious allegro. This thrilling buildup of the beat fueled Kurama, Shuuichi, and Setsu to go on, and on, and on—all three of them were intoxicated, energized, electrified—he sang and they played like they were running, running for their lives.

"—_jibun no shin—  
_—**to take one big leap—**"

In time for this line, the drummer of this one-act band smacked the high-hat cymbals—as if they really did just take one big leap—

"—_jite tobikome,  
_—**into a bright tomorrow,  
**_jidai wo tsukuru tame ni_—  
**to that time devoid of pain and sorrow—**"

"_**Whoa ho ho…!**_" cried out the once-reluctant lead singer of the band, pouring himself out into the song, the core of his very being now fully, truly immersed into the message of the music. Reaching the fever pitch of the same melody and madness themselves, the restless Shuuichi and Setsu strummed and smacked their hearts out as well.

Now the electronic recorder that played Shiori's piano piece must have either rewound itself, or replayed her song from its humble beginnings. Minamino Shiori's original opus was now reborn. Their whole world slowed… calmed… again.

"_Kitto itsu no hi ka, chijou ga  
_**That day may be so distant, yet so certain  
**_Rakuen ni kawaru you ni  
_**Our very world becomes our paradise  
**_Ore no buki sae,  
_**And of all my weaponry,  
**_tokaseru hodo no  
_**I will fin'lly have no need  
**_Hizashi ni afureru you ni.  
_**They'll all melt away and then I will be free.**"

The second refrain was fast approaching round the bend. This time around, they all knew what to do. All three band members picked up their pace once more.

"_Sono hi wo…  
_**So that I may…**"

_The tempo of this song…_

From several steps behind him, blue eyes studied the graceful contours of Kurama's back. Wave upon crimson wave rippled down his back with a quiet beauty all its own, yet it was this very quietude that beckoned her attention to the military broadness of his shoulders—a muscular sight to behold against the fluid downward slope of his torso, tacitly tapering until the slender arch of his hips.

"… _motomete…  
**... **_**find that someday…**"

_This is your personal pace._

She shook her head vigorously, vehemently, condemning herself for her momentary attempt at visually appreciating someone other than Hagiri Kaname. She sighed to regain her composure.

"_**Keep on running—  
**__**We are fighting  
**__**Go… on…**_"

_You start slowly, and then go faster, gently… yet gain in speed and strength…_

_Everything that you do follows this pace._

* * *

Little did the other members of the Minamino-Hatanaka household know that their star soloist's mind was racing more than a mile a minute.

As the once-dusky, disheartening andante aria again quickened into a vigorous, vivacious allegro, all of Kurama's conscious memories of Minamino Shiori—all the way from that auspicious moment he had merged with the human fetus inside her, until his having given her a bonsai tree in a shallow tray just this morning—flickered across his mind in time with the beat of her piano tune, each fleeting scene pulsing within him like a frantic heartbeat, as if he was running, running for his life.

"_Mirai e no hashi wo watarou,  
_**I will tread upon all pathways to the future,  
**_ikiru koto ga kake naraba…  
_**even though the journey's sure to risk my life…**"

Just then, one forgettable yet unforgotten memory blurred his vision.

_He was but one or two at the time. He sported his favorite yellow T-shirt with a red rocket printed on its front, coupled with his usual turquoise flannel pajama pants. Shiori had just spread out a flesh-colored Band-Aid on the bridge of his then-short stub of a nose._

"_Take care of yourself, Shuuichi." She pressed on his rosy little button nose. He could see only himself in her concerned blue eyes. "Be safe always."_

_I'm sorry._

The present-day Kurama closed his eyes.

_What you are asking from me…_

"... _Kooritsuku tsuribashi datte_,  
... **If the frontier before my eyes is made of ice,  
**_hashitte watatte yaru—  
_**I still have no reason to surrender—  
**_**Whoa ho ho!**_"

... _I can't promise it._

Suddenly, the electronic recorder aired the liveliest, most blissful refrain that Shiori had ever played on her baby grand piano. She sounded like she was celebrating the grandest victory of her life.

He shut his eyes even more tightly.

_Did you not hear me,_ 'Kaa-san_? The life I lead_ is not _the life you want me to have…!_

But Shiori's piano-playing only grew even more sprightly and spirited than before.

He opened his eyes again. His gaze immediately landed on her.

What was the message that _she_ was getting? Was she taking all this the wrong way? Why was part of him… confessing… to her? Was _this_ really the message that he had always wanted to convey to her for all this time, for all these years?

His eyes could not meet hers. He lowered his head to hide them behind the long forelocks of his hair.

* * *

_That mask that you've been hiding behind all this time._

Observant blue eyes watched Minamino Shiori's secretive, now troubled son silently struggling with himself.

_It's cracking._

* * *

He slowly lowered his arm to his side, distancing the microphone from his traitorous lips.

_I refuse._

Even when his stepbrother decided to amp up the already festive furor with his electric guitar, he still only stood there, his crimson forelocks darkly shrouding his eyes.

_I refuse to say any more._

Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice echoing in his mind—

"_I will be with you all the way."_

—and out loud.

"_Mirai wo shinjite kirikome!  
_**We will stand up for the future we believe in!**"

Kurama froze. He turned to look at her.

He could see only himself in her concerned blue eyes.

"_Ikiru koto wa kake dakara—  
_**For the fight is truly why we're all alive—**"

As Setsu sang on, repeating his own lyrics back to him without using a microphone of her own, she communicated to him once more, but only in his mind.

"_I believe in what you believe in."_

* * *

The resident drummer closed her eyes. Little by little, the resident lead vocalist found his own arm raising the mic to level with his face once more.

"—_jibun no shin—  
_—**to take one big leap—**"

Her eyelids flew open upon hearing his voice joining her own, their unified singing growing louder… stronger. She found him now standing beside her and leaning in her direction, tipping his microphone closer to her lips.

"—_jite tobikome…  
_**into a bright tomorrow…**"

* * *

Now merely inches away from her face, green eyes studied her drumming away and even passionately head-banging to the beat of her own drums, sweat-drenched tendrils of sandy brown hair clinging to the nape of her neck, like rococo curls kissed by rain.

They continued to sing together.

"… _jidai wo tsukuru tame ni—  
_**... to that time devoid of pain and sorrow—  
**_**Whoa ho ho!**_"

At this point, Kurama's imagination was just about to run out of additional lyrics when Setsu then exclaimed a line all by herself. "_**Going to my dream!**_"

Her words came back to him. _"I believe in what you believe in."_

And just as suddenly, the younger Shuuichi improvised all on his own. "_**Fighting for my friends!**_"

He caught everyone's attention. As both his older stepbrother and cousin turned to look at him, the former smiled at him warmly… radiantly.

"_**Running to my dream!**_" continued Kurama, picking up from—and emphasizing—the line that Setsu sang.

He believed in it now—everything that he had sung to his mother. This _was_ the message that he wanted her to hear. The message that she needed… deserved… to hear.

All at once, the three members of this unofficial, newborn band forged a bond that they never shared before.

"_**Fighting for my friends!**_" All three of them cried out together in perfect unison. They were all light- and clear-headed, drunkenly floating on a hazy, heady musical high.

They all heard Shiori's piano-playing fading into the distance once more. Shuuichi and Setsu followed suit and stopped playing their respective instruments as well. Kurama was to conclude this concert alone.

He closed his eyes again, mentally composing his famous last words for the time being.

"_Kokoro no mizuumi ni kakaru…  
_**While my heart remains a deep and tranquil water…**"

But right when he thought he was all by himself, Setsu gently accompanied him with her drums, just to keep the beat.

"… _niji no hashi wo miru hi made.  
_... **I still long to see a rainbow cross my sea.**"

* * *

Even when they were already clearing out the sound system and other musical equipment from the living room, Shiori remained touched beyond words. Her eyes still misted. She dabbed at their corners with her lacy handkerchief.

Until now, all that the breathlessly speechless mother managed to say was "Thank you… all of you."

As he unplugged his sound system, the younger Shuuichi turned to grin toothily at his currently emotional stepmother. "I hope you liked our 'birthday surprise'."

The teary-eyed Shiori could only nod once in affirmation. "You were very good on the guitar, Shuuichi-_kun_." She lightly clapped both her hands onto her young stepson's shoulders, and then gracefully slid her arms across his back in a hug. "I am so proud of you."

The teenage boy chuckled uncomfortably at her touch, yet his toothy grin grew even toothier. "_Electric_ guitar, _'Kaa-san_." Oh-so-slightly wriggling out of his affectionate stepmother's embrace, Shuuichi reached for the drawstring bag that Setsu had handed to him when she arrived at their house earlier that day, fished inside it, and yanked out a greeting card with an illustration of a most delectable slice of strawberry cheesecake on its front. "Just wait 'til you see my _other_ surprise for you, '_Kaa-san_! TA-DAAAH!"

From across the living room, the other two members of Shuuichi's spur-of-the-moment band were dismantling the high-hat stand of his drum set when they caught sight of their electric guitarist brandishing the very birthday card that Sanae had written on—in French script font, no less—and that Setsu had also drawn on just yesterday.

Setsu was already taking a deep breath in preparation for hoisting the floor tom onto her shoulders to carry it all the way back up to the attic when both she and the older Shuuichi overheard the younger one boasting, "I made it myself!"

Knowing green eyes turned to look squarely at Setsu. She just sighed and shrugged at him with a sheepish grin.

Kurama smiled back.

* * *

"You know, _itoko_," Shuuichi walked up to his cousin older than him by a year. "The three of us playing that song together wasn't one of your best ideas. If you didn't notice, _'Nii-san_ upstaged me yet again! _I_ only served as his backup, while _he_ got the chance to sing!"

Setsu tilted her head to one side. "Actually, I gave you the chance, too—you just didn't grab it." She hunched down to lift the bass drum off the floor. "Besides, _that_'s not really what matters most to you, _ne_?"

"Huh?"

"Admit it, _itoko_. Deep down, you really just wanted to make Shiori-_'ba-san_ happy." The older cousin closed her eyes and smiled to herself. "And yeah, Shuuichi. She was."

"_Che_." A gruff Shuuichi grunted, even scratching the tip of his nose to mask his growing discomfort from their feel-good topic of conversation.

"'_Ba-san_ was very happy to have received her own composition—now with guitar, drum, and vocal accompaniment, too—as a birthday gift _not_ because of how good the new song turned out to be—in fact, I believe it could have sucked rotten eggs, and _yet_ she wouldn't have loved it any less—but because her two sons had worked _together_ just to present it to her." Setsu lightly clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Giving gifts is not a matter of who gives the better or the best gift, Shuuichi. What's most important is that your gift came straight from your heart."

"_Heh_! That's just _gross_!" The unsentimental boy crossed his arms before his chest. "My birthday gift didn't 'come straight from my heart' or whatever! You're just being sappy, _itoko_!"

Her eyes still closed, and her smile now even wider, Setsu shook her head knowingly. "Since you didn't even know that we were going to do this and that we only had one shot, you gave it all you got. _That_ is what _'Ba-san_ appreciated the most—that you played your electric guitar for her, straight from your heart."

Shuuichi merely shrugged off the warm and fuzzy atmosphere between them. "What can I say? She might not be my biological mother, but she's still the nicest mom ever."

Setsu nodded. "I understand that you feel as though you 'got upstaged' or 'lost out' in some way. If I were you, I wouldn't think of it in terms of that Ice Block being the lead singer and you serving 'only' as 'backup'—"

From behind the nearest wall, Shuuichi the Elder sweat-dropped. _Ice Block?_

"Ice Block?" Even Shuuichi the Younger repeated.

"Well, didn't he sing about his 'heart' being 'as cold as ice' or something?" Setsu pointed out. "Anyway, the song didn't actually work that way. Think of it this way, _onegai_: Without _you_, the song that we just played would not have turned out the way it did. Your playing encouraged both _Sempai_ and me. We _needed_ you for that song, Shuuichi. You were important. To all of us."

And with that, Kurama needed not listen any more.

_Still the same, this_ ningen.

He walked away.

* * *

The snare drum weighing down on both her hands, Setsu had just stepped onto the second floor of the Minamino-Hatanaka home when she caught sight of Shiori and her biological son clasped in an intimate embrace.

"_Otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu, 'Kaa-san."_

"_Arigatou_, Shuuichi."

From several steps away, blue eyes studied the graceful contours of his back once more.

_It takes long for you to love someone._

_But when you finally do… it's…_

A silent smile tugged on the corners of her lips.

… _beautiful._

The mother and son soon parted ways, Shiori going inside the door of the nearest bedroom and leaving Kurama in the hallway. He whirled behind him to find Setsu eyeing him strangely. "Something on your mind, Mayonaka-_san_?"

"Oh, nothing."

The secretive girl closed her eyes and shook her head.

"I was just thinking," she bade as she strode past him, still carrying the snare drum in her hands. "of how a delicate flower can grow through even the strongest cement."

* * *

Despite all her insistent protests, the matter was settled—just as she did in the summer, she was to spend the night in _his_ bedroom again.

Setsu closed her eyes.

Within seconds, the bottommost drawer of Kurama's study table magically pulled open on its own, and the very scroll that Father Time Himself had furnished to the almighty Enma Daiou for safekeeping in the Royal Palace Archives of _Reikai_ floated out of it, enveloped in a blinding white light.

She held up her right hand. Suddenly, a ghastly scar emerged diagonally from under her skin just as another brightly glowing scroll also materialized and floated right above her wound. It was this second scroll that mysteriously drifted back inside Kurama's desk drawer.

Blue eyes opened in time to see the drawer push itself back into its rightful slot. Stale blood seeped out of the long slash on her right palm. She clenched her bleeding fist.

_You can return it to where it belongs now._

* * *

Kurama pressed his knuckles against his own bedroom door, his other hand curled around its brass knob. He knocked lightly. "Mayonaka-_san_."

He waited for a response… in vain.

"_Okiteiru ka_?"

She still did not answer.

He sighed. "I'm going in."

Kurama turned the knob slowly, cautiously. _She didn't lock it._

Once he opened his door, he discovered that she was not inside his room.

His first instinct was to check the bottommost drawer of his study table for any sign of tampering. He found the enchanted spool that he had pilfered right under Koenma's nose now good as new: impeccably clean and bloodless—as if he had never once attempted to expose and read its contents—and unrolled, as if he had never once attempted to unravel it at all.

Green eyes glanced out the open doorway.

_Thank you._

* * *

Three dressmaking pins sticking out of her tautly shut lips, Shiori stitched another sequin onto the immaculate white dress bunched up on her lap, its intricately woven train flowing all the way atop the coffee table beside her knees.

A Kurama about to retire to bed weaved his way to the living room sofa towards her, taking care not to step on the bridal gown that she was working on.

Shiori looked up from her embroidery and found her biological son now standing before her and leaning closer. She took out the pins in her mouth and inserted their pointed ends into her red tomato-shaped pincushion in time to receive a light, featherlike peck on her cheek.

"_Oyasumi nasai_, _'Kaa-san_."

"_Oyasumi nasai_, Shuuichi," Shiori swept his long crimson forelocks aside and planted a tender return kiss on his forehead. "And thank you for yet another wonderful birthday celebration. Your song was just…" She paused awhile, unable to find the best words to speak. "… beautiful."

"But not as beautiful as this." The affectionate son gestured to the sparkling sequined wedding dress pooled on her lap.

Shiori smiled warmly in gratitude.

"It's for a good friend," she commented mysteriously.

Kurama chose not to stay too long. After a few more casual exchanges, he took no more of her time away from her needlework and headed off to the second floor of their home.

On his way up the staircase, a Setsu with her hands clasped behind her back was skipping down. They crossed paths. He nodded to her in acknowledgment at the same time she half-smiled at him, only one of her dimples appearing on her cheek.

"G' night, Iceberg," she bade to him as soon as they had passed each other.

Without looking back, Kurama sweat-dropped to himself as they drifted further away.

In the living room, Shiori was already on her feet, gently folding the long, flowing gown in her hands and placing it in its rightful box when she caught earshot of footsteps approaching her again.

"Oh," Setsu stopped in her tracks upon finding the mother of the household tidying up. "Uh, are you done sewing for tonight, _'Ba-san_?"

Shiori shook her head no as she tucked the cardboard box away and sat back down onto the sofa. "Not yet. In fact, I'm just about to start on another one." She picked up a cotton shirt from the coffee table before her and lightly patted the space on the couch beside her, motioning for Setsu to sit there. "Come, Setsuki-_chan_. Do keep me company. Why, you're hardly ever here in our home."

The houseguest smiled and slowly, shyly perched upon the very spot that Shiori had told her to sit on. "I hope you don't mind me watching you for a while." She shoved her hand into the side pocket of her faded denim jeans and felt for Maya's fox-man figurine inside. "I'd like to learn how to sew something onto something else."

Just then, Shiori reached out a hand towards her. "Where is it? Here, give it to me…"

"Thank you, _'Ba-san_, but no." A flustered Setsu held up her own hands before her in adamant refusal. "If you do it for me, I will never learn on my own. Teach me instead, _onegai_… So that I could do it myself even when—and especially when—you aren't around."

The young lady's explanation struck Shiori. The older woman closed her eyes, a soft smile curling her lips even more. "I understand. If you insist."

That night, a casual, comfortable silence lingered between the only two women in the Minamino-Hatanaka household, Setsu peacefully watching with (the) intent (to learn) as Shiori masterfully mended a long, jagged rip in the dress shirt on her lap with precisely positioned, interwoven stitches.

After what seemed an hour or so, only then did Shiori unfold the article of clothing in her hands to its full length: a Chinese dress shirt designed for a relatively tall man, frayed at the hems and violently torn along one seam.

She finally spoke up once more.

"This is his."

But Setsu needed no explanation. She stayed silent.

"I don't know when and where he wore it."

Young, icy blue eyes studied the growingly chaotic whirlpool of emotions spiraling within the older woman's own older, warmer eyes of blue.

"That song…"

The concerned mother slowly ran a frail finger along the slit in the threadwork, clutching the rest of the dress shirt closer to her heart.

"Setsuki…" Shiori brought the cloth closer to her lips, unable to establish eye contact with her companion. "What was he trying to tell me…?"

Setsu's shoulders sank as she heaved a deep sigh. _I will not lie to you, Shiori_-'ba-san. _That won't be fair to you. But I will not reveal him to you, either. That won't be fair to him._

The younger girl simply closed her eyes and shook her head—slowly, reverently.

"Make of it what you will."

* * *

So _this_ was how she handled his mother and her curiosity. He had heard enough.

His eyes closed, Kurama walked away.

_I'm convinced, Mayonaka_-san. _You have not and will not give me away._

* * *

Who could be calling at this unholy hour of night?

The man of the Mayonaka household yawned loudly, wiped a sleepy tear off the corner of his eye, and snorted before getting up from bed, slipping his feet into his fuzzy black bedroom slippers, and heavily dragging his body all the way to the telephone.

A half-lidded eye read the Akasakis' landline number at the caller ID bar. Mayonaka Tsuzuku frowned slightly. Didn't Kisetsu tell Minaku that she was sleeping over at the Minamino-Hatanakas tonight?

He addressed the matter as soon as he raised the mouthpiece to his lips.

"Sorry, Minaku. I'm not Kisetsu."

"That's all right. I'm not Minaku either," laughed the bubbly female voice on the other line.

Finally, Tsuzuku woke up, a small smile secretly emerging from amid his salt-and-pepper five o'clock shadow.

* * *

"_Which Eternal did you steal an hourglass from, then?"_

_Kurama shook his head. "I don't know. But we can be certain that it was_ not _the Deity of the Present—the man named Kyou. The Eternal I had stolen from was surely female."_

_Kaitou finally asked the question that Kurama had been asking himself since he first dreamt of his encounter with the partially visible Eternal trapped in that old, decrepit castle in_ Makai. _"Could she have followed_ you _here? To get her trinket back?"_

_The demon-human's face turned a darker shade of black. "Then I can no longer return it to her."_

His eyes flew open, immediately adjusting to the darkness enveloping Hatanaka Shuuichi's bedroom.

_I used it._

_To turn human._

* * *

It was another restless night.

_If you are indeed one of them, then what are you doing in this world? Did someone 'summon' you here? Are you here to see someone?_

_Did you cross over to this world to be with Hagiri_-kun_? Or to exact revenge on me?_

As soundlessly as he could, Kurama padded off the bottommost step of the staircase and into the kitchen. Fetching his usual mug from the dishwasher, he tugged the refrigerator door handle and brought out a pitcher of ice cold water. He poured himself a glass, his eyes trailing the long, bright streak of light that the bulb in the fridge cast across the dining table.

_She's there again._

At the end of the beam of light, Setsu's cheek was slumped onto the hardwood dining table, her lips slightly parted. As always, a clear, viscous fluid dribbled off her open mouth and pooled onto the table.

_Why doesn't she just stay in my room?_ Kurama sighed to himself. _Stubborn_ ningen.

And as soundlessly as he came, he bounded up the stairs and into his own room, looking for that long green thing that he had already returned to her in this exact manner once before.

* * *

He was about to slide her green colored pencil between her left pointer and thumb—as he had done once before—when he spotted the silver sewing needle that she was holding in her sleep.

Green eyes wandered out of sheer curiosity. They found a golden thimble now threatening to tip over and fall off her left middle finger. Checkered Band-Aids of assorted colors were now wrapped around the remaining fingers of her left hand.

_Needlecraft is_ not _her strong point._ He chuckled to himself. _What could she have sewn?_

Green eyes wandered further. Atop the dining table was a voice recorder with the name "Nami" spelled out on its metal casing with small, sparkling jewel-shaped beads. A pair of earphones was connected to the recorder. One of the earphones was plugged into the snoozing Setsu's right ear, while the other piece dangled on its cord, every now and then brushing against her torso. Even while seated on the dining chair to her right, Kurama could make out faint music coming from them.

Only then did he notice the faint color heating up her cheeks.

Whatever it was that she was listening to, she seemed to be enjoying it.

A smile tugging on his lips despite himself, Kurama gently took the loosely dangling earphone into his hand and carefully raised it to his own ear.

He found himself listening to his own voice.

Green eyes suddenly hid beneath a veil of crimson forelocks. He felt like letting go of the earphone at the sound.

The same green eyes resurfaced, returned to the recording device, and peeked inside the glass-looking plastic protective cover of the cassette slot. Through this cover, the mini-cassette tape in which she had recorded his singing read in bold black letters: "FOR NAMI." And below were the words: "You were right—it _is_ easy on the ears."

_Did you mean my voice?_

He found an identical tape on the dining table, next to her drawstring pouch bag. The other cassette tape bore the label: "FOR ME."

The smile on his face grew. _You did._

Green eyes were now in the mood to read. They discovered the message stitched onto the front patch of Setsu's embroidered pouch bag:

"A true friend hears the song in your heart  
and sings it to you when your memory fails."

Just then, the recording of Setsu's voice—and soon, both her and his voices in a blending chorus—streamed into his ear.

_You sang it back to me…_

He reached for the recorder and reduced the sound volume little by little, fearing that she might awaken if he turned it off altogether.

_Is_ that _what you've become…?_

Suddenly, Setsu murmured in her sleep. "Hey… Ice… Cream…"

_Mayonaka_-san,_ are you… dreaming of…?_

An involuntary chuckle escaped Kurama's lips.

_You may be out to kill me, but…_

He closed his eyes.

... I _cannot kill_ you.

_Not even as you dream._

**To be continued  
**(Hopefully by the end of the month—  
Got a midterm M.A. paper to submit first, you see.)

No, this fanfic is not turning into a musical or something. XD I just couldn't help it—_Koori no_ Naifu _wo Daite_ is my favorite Kurama character image song of all. *eyes glitter with love*

[shameless plug]  
Just in case you've never heard Kurama's _Koori_ before, or if you would like to download an MP3 file of this song—and/or its instrumental (no-vocals karaoke) version—then please, feel free to check out _The Kurama whom Kurama Never Knew_ Downloads page! \(^o^)/ The link to it is on my profile. ^-^  
[/shameless plug]

I hope that you can find the time and opportunity to listen to it while reading that part of this chapter again. You _will_ appreciate this chapter much more that way. ^-^

Just a passing thought that I… err, thought… I'd share with you:  
I didn't want this to get lost in translation, you see.  
Only now that I've been studying Nihongo formally for a little over a year did I finally notice just how _romantic_ Kurama truly is from the very title of this song alone. Translated to English, it basically means that Kurama "is holding an ice knife," or a knife made of ice—if we were to be really simplistic and unromantic about it. What struck me, though, was Kurama's (well, actually, the real-life lyricist's, but you get my point) use of the quite elegant word _daite_ instead of the more commonly used _motte_—both of which could be translated to the English verb "hold," but with notably different nuances.  
While _motte_, from the root word _motsu_, could mean to "hold," "carry," or "have in one's possession" (in one's hand, for example), Kurama's choice of _daite_ comes from the root word _daku_, which carries a semantic "holding" connotation most closely resembling the word _dakishimeru_, meaning to "cuddle," "hug," or "embrace." (He's got some lovey-dovey mushiness going on with that weapon of his, then. XD)  
So, long story short, Kurama ultimately sings that he is in possession of that ice knife in question in a poetically elegant and intimate way—he is "clasping it to his heart," or something dramatic like that.  
*chuckles* Oh, Kurama. Such a hopeless romantic. XD

In the next chapter…  
Canon characters galore!  
Kurama solves more of this mystery!  
Meet Setsu's alter ego!  
Don't miss it! \(^o^)/

[even more shameless plug]  
While waiting for it, do feel free to check out my most recent YYH fanfics!

_Especially for Kurama lovers:  
_**My Daddy's Mommy Shiori  
**Meet the newest member of the Minamino family. "My Daddy's Mommy teaches me a lot of things. Like I shouldn't do what Daddy used to do when he was still a magic fox. He used to get things that didn't belong to him! Bad Daddy!" Oneshot, Kurama x ?

_And for all YYH lovers in general:  
__**Yu Yu Hakusho**_** Character Care Manuals  
**Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of your very own _Yu Yu Hakusho_ character! Read and refer to this manual for instructions and tips on how to take advanta—ahem, care—of your brand new Spirit Detective! Questions? Suggestions? Let us know!

As you must already know, the links to these are on my profile.  
[/even more shameless plug]

**Again, THANK YOU VERY MUCH for reading this far!  
****And don't forget to REVIEW this chapter! ^-^**


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